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THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 



THE ROAD 
TO FREEDOM 

Lectures Delivered to 
The Altruism Club 
by a Master 

EDITED BY 

KARL D. CHAMBERS 





NEW YORK CITY 

LIGHT AND KNOWLEDGE PRESS 
PUBLISHERS 



COPYRIGHT, 1022, BY KARL D. CHAMBERS 

All rights reserved in all countries; 
including the rights of translation into all languages 
including the Scandinavian 



Printed in the United States of America 


VAIL-BALLOU COMPANY 
BINGHAMTON AND NEW YORK 


OCT 26 '22 

©Cl A683898 Wi 


EDITOR S PREFACE 


The aggregate want of the public to-day is 
for basic knowledge of living life. The prob¬ 
lem that faces every individual is,—how can I 
live my life so as to get the most out of it in 
every desirable way? The thinkers, studying 
this problem, have begun to realize that abso¬ 
lute justice rules throughout all of life, that 
every man is in the position that he is in be¬ 
cause of his own thoughts and acts, and that 
each person determines his own life in every 
respect. (In some instances it is difficult to 
understand how this can be so; as the Author 
says, it is often difficult to see the acorn that 
produced the oak). Nevertheless, the law 
does operate whether we believe it or not, and 
as we have to abide by its effects, it is only 
the part of wisdom for us to learn the law and 
comply with it. 

Ignorance of these laws causes many need¬ 
less tragedies. I have so often seen a friend 
battered and torn by his blind attempts to 


VI 


EDITOR’S PREFACE 


smash his way through some serious problem 
which had arisen in his life, when by a knowl¬ 
edge of the simple laws governing the prob¬ 
lem, he could have saved himself all of the 
knocks and strain that he suffered. Many 
times I have wished most earnestly for a book 
that I could give to such a friend, a book that 
would present to him in a simple, acceptable, 
and easily understood way a comprehensive 
survey of the principal laws by which men 
live, grow, and work out their freedom. I 
have never before been able to find such a 
book, and when I became acquainted with the 
wonderful teachings given herein by the Au¬ 
thor, and was given the privilege of publish¬ 
ing them, I was delighted with the opportun¬ 
ity of doing so in order that all the world 
could profit by their exceedingly practical and 
applicable wisdom. In their simplicity lies 
their power, for they can be understood by any 
person of average intelligence. 

During the last few years I have traveled 
throughout the United States and Canada 
with my wife, Mrs. Gertrude Steele Cham¬ 
bers, the well-known lecturer on Applied Psy¬ 
chology. During our sojourn in the various 


EDITOR’S PREFACE 


vii 

cities, I have been called upon to meet the 
serious, personal problems of thousands of 
people; consequently I believe I am in a posi¬ 
tion to state authoritatively what those prob¬ 
lems are with which the great thinking classes 
of these countries are confronted. These 
people are not really sick either physically or 
mentally and are therefore out of reach of ob¬ 
servation by either the medical doctor, the 
neurologist, or the alienist. If, however, their 
problems remain unsolved and are aggra¬ 
vated, these people will soon fall under the 
care of one of the above named specialists. 
It seems to me evident that a book that will 
enable people to solve their problems before 
they become serious is invaluable to all man¬ 
kind. Judging by my wide experience and 
my study of these teachings, I sincerely be¬ 
lieve that this book will enable any one to 
solve his own problems wisely. 

A book lives only so long as it continues to 
be of value to mankind. I predict that this 
one will be treasured as a priceless possession 
in millions of homes. This book is destined 
to live. 


% 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Editor’s Preface.. 

Introduction .. xiii 


Chapter I 

The Game of Life—Methods for Keeping the 
Body in Good Condition—Health the First Re¬ 
quirement—How to Connect Yourself with the 
Real Source of Life—A Few Physical Exer¬ 
cises—The Importance of Your Mental Picture 
of Your Physical Body—Building in Good 
Habits—The Way to Health.1 

Chapter II 

How to Overcome Undesirable Habits—The Rea¬ 
soning Process—What the Subconscious Mind 
Is and How It Operates—How Fears and Fool¬ 
ish ideas Are Accumulated—How to Eliminate 
Them—Choosing Mental Associates—The Plan 
of Life—Absolute Justice Rules—All Things 
Attainable—The Law of Action and Reaction 
—Every Individual Has Unawakened Accom¬ 
plishments—How to Draw Them Up—Direct¬ 
ing Your Creative Powers—Your Plan in Life 
—Its Value—How to get the Cooperation of 
Your Workmen—The Benefits of Encourage¬ 
ment—Living Now in Eternity.6 

ix 




X 


CONTENTS 


Chapter III 

PAGE 

Exact Law Governs Everything—The Only Force 
that Influences You—A Practical Method for 
Making the Going Easier—The Things that 
Bring True Satisfaction—The Hidden Side of 
Thinking and Planning—The Force that 
Draws Things to You—How to Influence and 
Train Others—Overcoming Emotional Storms 
and Their Effects—A Rule to Remember— 

The Greatest Lesson to be Learned—Leader¬ 
ship—Spiritual Development—The Key to 
Harmonious Association—The Two Paths of 
Growth—The Benefits of Seemingly Undesir¬ 
able Conditions.21 


Chapter IV 

Why People are not Born Equal—Birth not the 
Beginning—There are no Gifts of Abilities— 
How Parents are Chosen—How to Work out 
of Undesirable Conditions—Intelligently Ad¬ 
ministering Punishment—The Responsibility 
of the Teacher.41 

Chapter V 

Vibratory Law—Many Vibrations not Registered 
by Physical Senses—How We Attune Our¬ 
selves—How Outside Forces Influence Us— 

The Vibratory Effect of Music—What the 
“Psychic Atmosphere” Really Is—Voluntary 
and Involuntary Sensitives—The Atmosphere 
of the Person—Factors Determining Posses¬ 
sion—The Law for Attaining Your Desires . 55 

Chapter VI 

The Most Powerful Influence not Visible—The 
Importance of Thought Control—Danger in 




CONTENTS 


xi 


PAGE 

Dabbling in Psychic Explorations—What a 
Master Is—The Phenomena of Sleep—How to 
Make the Going Easy—The Effects of Oppos¬ 
ing The Plan—Carried Over Abilities—The 
Only Method of Acquiring Abilities—The 
Lives of the Soul—The Change Called Death 
—The Inferior Races—Their Cause and Pur¬ 
pose—A Wonderful Promise for the Aged— 

The Effects of Cruelty—The Physical World 
a School—Intuitive Recognition of Facts—In¬ 
terest and Its Effects.70 


Chapter VII 

Eliminating Friction—No Discrepancies in The 
Plan—Possibilities as yet Undreamed of— 
Changing an Undesirable Environment—What 
Faith Does—Obtaining Assistance in Time of 
Need—Definite Proof of Justice in The Plan 
—The Scientist’s Exacting Attitude Com¬ 
mended—The Importance of Religion—Many 
Ways to God—The Futility of Religious Strife 
—The Dependable Test—No Permanent Loss 
of Soul—The Results of Persistent Violation 
of Law—The Possibility of a Practical Utopia. 92 


Chapter VIII 

The Majesty of Work—The Mental Attitude that 
Makes It a Pleasure—Freeing Yourself from 
Undesirable Positions—Finding What You 
Need Most—Where Your Opportunities Lie— 
Each Individual Creates His Own Conditions 
—The Power of Determination—The Greatest 
Stumbling Block—Always a Way Out. . .107 



xii 


CONTENTS 


Chapter IX 

PAGB 

The Advanced Individual—Domination of Time— 

The Secret of Accomplishment—The Daily 
Tests—Opportunities for Growth—All Indi¬ 
viduals Ready to Work Toward Mastership— 

The Significance of a Failure—Lack of 
Knowledge not Necessarily a Permanent Lim¬ 
itation—The Danger of Living in the Past— 

The Road to Mastership—Overcoming Set¬ 
backs—Building the Temple—Choosing Build¬ 
ing Material—The Plans—The Promise. . .116 


INTRODUCTION 


If you will read this book with an open, re¬ 
ceptive mind, it will clarify many things for 
you which have not been so clear to you before. 

I do not ask you to receive the teachings 
contained herein until you have first passed on 
them by your reason and accepted them be¬ 
cause they are logical and will bring you from 
darkness into the light of understanding. 

As you read, you will gradually emerge 
into a new consciousness, which will enable you 
to enjoy your progress and likewise to make 
The Path easier for others with whom you 
walk. I know that they who have traveled 
The Path and are now looking back with a 
realization of the possibility of traveling it with 
ease instead of the strenuousness with which 
they traveled it, would indeed rejoice if by 
their efforts it could be made joyous for those 
who are now traveling it with a great struggle. 
Knowledge of the operation of law is always 
the tool of ability and in this case is the only 

xiii 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


force which can make the going easy for thos 
who are on The Path. 

To those souls I give this book with love. 

W. M. J. 


( 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 










THE ROAD 
TO FREEDOM 

CHAPTER I 

The Game of Life—Methods for Keeping the Body in 
Good Condition—Health the First Requirement— 
How to Connect Yourself with the Real Source of Life 
—A Few Physical Exercises—The Importance of 
Your Mental Picture of Your Physical Body—Build¬ 
ing in Good Habits—the Way to Health. 

All games worth playing are worth playing 
well, and the game of life is best of all; 
therefore let us play it well. 

The first and most important things to 
consider are the methods for keeping the 
body in good condition, so that the mind can 
function without having the constant draw¬ 
backs of a diseased body. The first requisite 
for health is clean and normal living. The 
care of the body includes bathing and correct 
breathing, proper food and exercise, and 
normal, constructive thinking. 

To begin to build new habits, it is best to 
commence in the early morning to do the 
l 


2 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


things that you are to build in; therefore begin 
by placing yourself before an open window 
and taking the following exercises: 

Place your hands above your head, inhale 
as much air as you can, and then drop the chest, 
throwing all the breath out with one blow. 
Inhale again, this time as slowly as you can, 
holding all the while a picture of your body 
being charged with vital force similar to elec¬ 
tricity. Picture it coming through the nerve 
centers—the reproductive organs, the solar 
plexus, the small of the back, and the base of 
the brain. Send the force through the body 
by thoroughly patting the body all over; then 
stand erect and fill the lungs three times in 
succession, repeating the words “Life—life 
—abundant life.” 1 This exercise will con¬ 
nect you with the real source of life if fol¬ 
lowed as given. 

Take a sponge bath every morning to keep 
the pores of the body open so that they can 
eliminate properly, as they are very important 
cleansers and nothing can take their place. 

i These words should be spoken with the deepest and most 
vivid mental realization and are of little value if only vocal¬ 
ized without thought. They will be a real joy if taken in the 
right spirit .—The Editor. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 3 


A brisk walk is fine to awaken and enliven the 
cells to normal working. 

After taking the breathing exercises, lie on 
the floor flat on the back, lift the hands above 
the head, and lift the feet, one at a time, 
straight up from the hips, keeping the knees 
straight. Then lie straight again, lift the up¬ 
per body or trunk to a sitting posture; touch¬ 
ing the toes with the finger tips without bend¬ 
ing the knees. This exercise pulls the sciatic 
nerve and straightens parts of the spine. Lie 
flat again and bend the right knee, bringing it 
up as close to the chest as possible, and then 
do the same with the left. If you will take 
these exercises daily, you will open the chan¬ 
nels through which the energy flows. Take 
them slowly at first, then increase the speed if 
you care to. The mental picture you hold 
tends to regulate the vibratory conditions of 
the body. Always remember that the mind 
rules absolutely, but that exercise is valuable 
as a definite method of concentration and 
sometimes jars the cells into action much more 
quickly than one could through mental com¬ 
mands until one has reached a state of won¬ 
derful mind control, and often serves as a 


4 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


point of centralization until the individual 
can center his attention at will. 

After your exercise in the morning, make 
an outline for your day’s activities and plans, 
and poise yourself for the work. Then use 
your time efficiently so as to accomplish; 
for real accomplishment is the secret of true 
happiness, and wasted time always means re¬ 
pressed growth, which in turn causes restless¬ 
ness and mental dissatisfaction. One must 
build in the habits that are desirable, else one 
is easily influenced and falls into a rut. 

To begin your mental training, it is well to 
outline a daily regimen and follow it care¬ 
fully. Make your daily regimen one that 
works toward the realization of your goal or 
ideal. 

Each night just before you retire, have a 
conference with yourself and go over the ac¬ 
complishments of the day; and if you have not 
followed the regimen you had planned for 
yourself, find out why not. Having made a 
mental note of these pitfalls, outline for the 
next day the things that are important and 
see that they are taken care of at the earliest 
time, as nothing is so important as that which 
you have promised yourself . Never waste 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 5 


time in regretting what has not been accom¬ 
plished, but use that time in making steps for 
growth. Constant effort merely teaches us 
to walk, so that in time it becomes automatic, 
just as it is constant effort for the baby to 
learn to walk. It is true that the baby gets 
many falls, but the adult walks with ease. 
If you will make a daily habit of going over 
each night the happenings of the day and 
finding out just what steps you have made in 
either progress or retrogression } you will be 
able to save yourself much wandering in the 
wilderness . 

The following of a definite outline makes 
it so much easier for the individual, as it sys¬ 
tematizes things. Assuming that you have a 
goal set for yourself, you should be taking the 
most definite route toward the accomplishment 
of it. To use your time efficiently is a neces¬ 
sary means to this end. To systematize one’s 
living sounds upon first consideration very 
tedious, but it saves much time and dissatis¬ 
faction in the end. 


CHAPTER II 


How to Overcome Undesirable Habits—The Reasoning 
Process—What the Subconscious Mind Is and How It 
Operates—How Fears and Foolish Ideas are Accumulated 
—How to Eliminate Them—Choosing Mental Associates— 
The Plan of Life—Absolute Justice Rules—All Things 
Attainable—The Law of Action and Reaction—Every 
Individual Has Unawakened Accomplishments—How to 
Draw Them Up—Directing Your Creative Powers—Your 
Plan in Life—Its Value—How to Get the Cooperation of 
Your Workmen—The Benefits of Encouragement—Living 
Now in Eternity. 


The mind is governed by the already ac¬ 
cumulated habits; therefore to overcome an 
undesirable habit more than a conscious de¬ 
cision is necessary. You must first realize the 
desirability of overcoming the habit, and then 
systematically practice the desirable trait un¬ 
til it becomes habitual. 

The subconscious mind acts automatically, 
and to build in anything it is necessary to re¬ 
peat a command or a suggestion to the self 
until it repeats itself back to you. Anything 
that is really fixed on the subconscious mind 
repeats itself; therefore do not take the idea 

of suggestion as a mere repetition of words in 
6 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 7 

a mechanical way, but impress them on the 
subconscious mind with force and repeat them 
until you get the echo, just as you would ex¬ 
pect the return of your voice across a valley. 
The subconscious mind is always open to com¬ 
mands from the conscious self and carries out 
the ones given most forcefully. The subcon¬ 
scious mind is the storehouse where all your 
knowledge and beliefs, both false and accurate 
are kept ; and when you get a new idea , all 
affinitizing ideas are immediately called forth 
and the conscious self looks over the aggregate 
and chooses. This process is called reasoning . 
The reasoning process is very necessary to 
growth. Man is the only animal endowed 
with reasoning powers, and the higher evolved 
the man is, the greater the reasoning power. 
In working out of involved mental conditions 
and misconceptions, it is necessary to reason 
out the ideas already accumulated in order to 
form a new conception. 

The subconscious is constantly receiving 
impressions:, whether they have been chosen 
with discretion or not, and the individual 
consciously choosing is the individual who 
builds on the rock. This means conscious 
“awareness.” 


8 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


It is no harder to build on the rock than 
upon the sands. It requires as much effort 
but means satisfaction in the end. The sub¬ 
conscious mind is not a mysterious something 
if you can realize that it contains all that you 
have gathered in all of your lives, and that 
all impulses, impressions, and abilities found 
therein have been placed there by you or by 
some one or something with your permission, 
and will only be changed, modified, or re¬ 
placed by you, or by your permission or 
neglect to choose. 

Your subconscious mind is your clay you 
are to mold into the shape you desire, and you 
mold it by your desires, as your desire force 
is a positive vibration. Emotion makes the 
consciousness plastic, and the idea connected 
with or carried by the emotion is impressed 
forcefully on the plastic mind. Any idea or 
impression given to the subconscious at such 
a receptive time, that is, during strong emo¬ 
tion, usually lingers unless rejected at once 
or erased through definite reasoning at just as 
sensitive a time as the moment of registering. 
That is what happens when you relive an 
experience, reason out the details of the hap¬ 
pening, and get a new view-point, thereby 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 9 

changing the first impression or idea,. When 
an idea enters the consciousness without the 
consent of the conscious mind, it goes into the 
subconscious mind as a fact regardless of its 
nature, unless there is in the subconscious 
mind a conflicting idea which is stronger than 
the newly acquired idea. That is how, many 
of the fears and the foolish ideas are accu¬ 
mulated. 

To keep the consciousness from accumulat¬ 
ing undesirable ideas and impressions, it is 
necessary to charge the consciousness with the 
importance of conscious alertness in detecting 
the undesirable as it enters the consciousness; 
for if you give the order to the conscious or 
the subconscious mind to detect and reject all 
suggestions or impressions that are not desired 
by you, you will become consciously aware of 
them when they are presented and will have 
the opportunity to refuse them entrance to 
your storehouse. This does not mean that you 
would shut out undesirable thoughts and im¬ 
pressions to which you were affinitized be¬ 
cause of wrong or unguarded thinking done by 
you. 

As you develop more fully, it will become 
more natural for you to choose your mental 


10 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


associates with as much discrimination as you 
show in choosing your visible companions and 
will prove to be even more profitable. If you 
will cleanse the consciousness of all unseemly 
associates, ideas, impressions, or emotional ac¬ 
cumulations by drawing out all associating 
ideas and feelings and replacing them with 
desirable ideas and impressions, you will soon 
have a harmonious household. You are work¬ 
ing toward Mastership and you must first 
master yourself. Therefore it is necessary for 
you to have a harmonious consciousness. As 
you develop the conscious mind’s control you 
are working toward self-control. “He who 
conquers himself can conquer worlds.” 

Just as soon as you have developed the 
ability to change your emotions at will, you 
have reached a point of definite advancement 
and then you are ready to begin work for 
greater advance into the higher teachings. 
It would be very confusing for the infant to 
begin its attempts to learn the necessary teach¬ 
ings of the schools by beginning where the 
parents are studying. When we begin to go 
into the universal teachings, we have to re¬ 
member that in the school of God each pupil 
is a private pupil, as no two individuals have 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 11 


progressed exactly alike, and that the individ¬ 
ual will get from any experience only that 
which is his. 

If he has reached a point of growth in which 
he makes definite decisions with his full reali¬ 
zation of the lessons afforded him by that 
experience, he will be able to profit thereby. 
When you consider carefully, you begin to 
realize the individual freedom to choose the 
road to travel. One does not need to comply 
with universal law unless one chooses, as one 
always has the choice of direction—but not the 
choice of reaction. There is in The Plan no 
partiality; every individual is governed by the 
universal law, and only as the individual gra¬ 
ciously complies does he find the going easy. 
Consequently, when you consciously begin to 
work constructively by controlling your acts, 
words, and thoughts, do you begin to comply. 
But it is necessary not only to raise yourself 
to intelligent working, but also to raise those 
to whom you are obligatorily attached. This 
is your shortest road to freedom. This does 
not mean to attempt to grow for them or 
to take upon yourself the responsibilities of 
others; but you can prevent yourself from 
throwing stumbling blocks in their path and 


12 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


you can be the willing guide when called upon 
by them. You cannot help one who will not 
be helped, but you can radiate much through 
your example. 

It is never so much what a % man says as what 
he is that affects those about him . You can¬ 
not prevent your radiations from affecting 
others. So you see, man does not live to him¬ 
self alone. You can protect yourself from 
the emanations from others by keeping your¬ 
self positively attuned to the higher things 
through your own thought connections, but 
to the extent of your violations of thought 
control do you attune yourself, and you at¬ 
tract according to the force of the thought 
sent out. 

There is always action and reaction, and you 
will always receive in accordance with that 
which you have created. The subconscious 
mind, which is your storehouse, contains the 
sum total of all your previous causes and the 
effects produced, whether those things are 
called to the conscious mind or not. You do 
not connect with, or draw from , the subcon¬ 
scious mind unless you have in the conscious 
mind a thought which has an affinitizing vi¬ 
bration to draw it forth . That is why it is 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 13 


quite correct to say that some people have dor¬ 
mant abilities which would become manifest 
if you could awaken in those individuals the 
desire to express them. It is not uncommon 
for a man to live a very mediocre life to quite 
an advanced atge and then to step forth to 
really phenomenal success. This was caused 
by his failure to draw upon his own storehouse 
until something aroused the desire in him 
which brought it forth. 

It is safe to assume that all individuals 
have some accomplishments and accumulations 
which they are not using because they have not 
awakened them through desire . It is useless 
to say that we wish we could be that which is 
desirable; for anything that is not already 
yours can be attained by you if you will take 
the time to attain it, instead of letting the time 
slip by while you wish. It is advisable to work 
toward one definite goal, instead of dividing 
the power of concentration on a number of 
things at a time, for when that is done, it 
necessarily divides your force. Even though 
you are working to bring forth from your 
storehouse an ability that has been developed 
in the past, you will not get quick and definite 
results if you are dividing your desires; for you 


14 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


will be drawing forth from your subconscious 
a mixture of abilities, or lack of ability, ac¬ 
cording to the mixture of ideas or thoughts 
which were the magnets in drawing them up. 

To connect with a thing there has to be an 
affinitizing vibration, else there would be no 
point of contact. 

Although your subconscious mind is your 
storehouse, you do not receive the benefits 
from it except as you command them through 
desire or definite need and use your decisive 
ability. Many times an unknown ability will 
burst forth like a geyser when you are cor¬ 
nered in need; that is why you can meet an 
emergency. In many cases of this kind the 
desire or call comes as dynamite to the subcon¬ 
scious and forces into action the power or 
ability needed for the emergency. Of course, 
this does not cover all cases of emergency. 
There are times when outside agents do step 
in to help or hold back, but they can only do so 
because of affinitization or neglect; however, 
these cases are not the majority. In the last 
analysis the individual has either to invite or 
permit the things that come before they can 
gain entrance. There is no excuse for even 
the stumbling caused by others except that we 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 15 


neglected to choose, and that is inviting that 
which comes. So you see, the individual is 
just what he chooses to be, for he either created 
his conditions for himself or accepted them 
from some source. That which you posi¬ 
tively reject cannot work in because there is 
no point of contact. 

As you grow in realization, you will become 
consciously aware of your ability to create the 
things and conditions you desire, and, being 
consciously aware, you will be able to intelli¬ 
gently direct and intelligently protect your 
consciousness. You are always using your 
creative powers, whether you are using them 
intelligently or not, and the reason that you 
do not see the definite result is that your 
powers are scattered because of your inability 
to focus your consciousness for any definite 
period of time. 

To begin to use your powers wisely, begin 
to choose your mental company and do not 
permit yourself to entertain thoughts which 
are fear thoughts, or any that are not in ac¬ 
cordance with your highest ideals. You are 
directly responsible for all violation of law, 
and every time you hurt any one through 
thought forces, there will come the reaction; 


16 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


there will always be an equalization at some 
time. 

The individual who consciously uses his 
powers to destroy will bring a stronger re¬ 
action than the one who destroys uncon¬ 
sciously. Therefore in making out your 
plans, he sure that you desire not only the 
thing itself hut that which must necessarily 
come with it, or as a reaction to it, for any¬ 
thing you gain must necessarily bring some¬ 
thing else or attune you to it, as everything 
affinitizes you to the next closest vibration. 
That is why you never get a new thing but 
that it calls for more. That is why upon 
reaching a goal there is always a more desir¬ 
able one further on. The law of life is 
growth, and the law of growth is change; and 
each higher knowledge brings its affinitizing 
vibration for the next higher knowledge, just 
as in growth each step brings the desire for 
and affinitizes one to the next higher step. 

From the foregoing it is evident that there 
are no crevices in the building of The Plan. 
Nature does not permit a vacuum and your 
nature has no vacuum, but is filled according 
to the building material used in the past. The 
individual builds constantly, whether he is con- 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 17 

scious of it or not, but if he gets the cooper¬ 
ation of all his workmen he will not have to 
do so much rebuilding and repair work. The 
only way to get the cooperation of the work¬ 
men is consciously to cooperate with them. 

To control the actions of the mind and 
body is to choose the material with which to 
build, and to have an outline or definite plan 
to guide you as you choose enables you to 
choose more intelligently. Your plan does 
not need to be one that will require all this 
life to attain but should be in accord with your 
highest conceptions and ideals, because such 
a plan will enable you to make it a stepping 
stone to your next higher goal; and if you 
choose a goal that you can reach in a compar¬ 
atively short time, it will serve as a stimu¬ 
lus to further steps in attaining still greater 
things. It is well to choose the difficult things 
for yourself, as it is the harder tasks that test 
us most and thereby do we discover our weak 
points as well as our strong points. We 
should be gratified to locate our weak spots, 
as it is much wiser to build roundedly. and 
every point of deficiency weakens the entire 
self. Besides to become intelligently aware of 
a weakness will enable us to overcome it. 


18 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


When I say intelligently aware, I am speak¬ 
ing of the kind of realization that sees the 
weakness and at the same time is conscious of 
the power to overcome it. It would not be 
very progressive to be painfully aware of a 
deficiency, if one only regretted it and did not 
perceive the remedy. 

Understanding what one has yet to build 
in is very desirable if one can build intelli¬ 
gently and roundedly and not be impatient in 
the work, for permanent building must be very 
carefully and accurately done. It is the baby 
that has to be protected by ignorance of its re¬ 
sponsibilities, and it is not wise to bring to it 
a realization of all that is to come, as such a 
realization would only confuse it and would 
not be very stimulating to its growth. There¬ 
fore if it weakens the individual to realize his 
undeveloped points, let him then give his at¬ 
tention to that which he has already de¬ 
veloped, for it is not always wise to present 
to one only the facts that discourage. It is 
just as necessary to encourage the individual 
as it is to teach him. Consequently in making 
your choice for yourself, let your reactions 
sometimes be your guide, as there are times 
when you should permit easy going. This 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 19 


does not retard your growth, but inclines to 
hasten it, as it tends to eliminate a great deal 
of the friction. 

You have the whole time of eternity in 
which to build if you choose it, and it is not 
wise to rush into plans for growth. But you 
will make rapid strides when you make the 
steps because you love to do it . The joy of 
the doing not only makes the going easy but 
shortens the path, as it speeds growth in a 
desirable way. There is a very definite dif¬ 
ference between the feeling, “I must hurry,” 
and the feeling, “I love to go.” The one 
that comes with the I-must-hurry attitude is 
friction, while the feeling that comes with the 
I-love-to-go feeling is a rapid vibration but 
is a harmonious one because of the joyful 
spirit. 

The spirit is the determining factor. It is 
the spirit in which you do a thing that deter¬ 
mines the vibratory effect. The person who 
gives a large sum of money to charity for 
the impression it will make on those whom he 
wishes to impress, is not giving in the spirit 
of helpfulness but in a selfish spirit, and the 
reaction on that individual is according to the 
spirit in which the act was committed. One 


20 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


may conceal from others the real impulse back 
of his acts, but there is no such thing as 
deceiving universal law; and that which re¬ 
bounds to him will be in accordance with the 
real underlying cause that he created. 

The motives of the individual are seldom 
understood by men, but there does not exist 
the remotest possibility of their being mis¬ 
understood by the universal consciousness. 
There is always the automatic rebound and 
it is always very exact. 


CHAPTER III 


Exact Law Governs Everything—The Only Force that Influ¬ 
ences You—A Practical Method for Making the Going 
Easier—The Things that Bring True Satisfaction—The 
Hidden Side of Thinking and Planning—The Force that 
Draws Things to You—How to Influence and Train Others 
—Overcoming Emotional Storms and their Effects— 
A Rule to Remember—The Greatest Lesson to be Learned 
—Leadership—Spiritual Development—The Key to Har¬ 
monious Association—The Two Paths of Growth—The 
Benefits of Seemingly Undesirable Conditions. 

Everything in the universe is governed by 
exact law, and universal law never fails. The 
individual is governed by law according to 
his own causes which he has set into operation, 
and those causes are being worked out in the 
life of the individual constantly. There is 
no possible way to avoid the effect of that 
which has been set into operation by the in¬ 
dividual, except setting up a stronger vibration 
in opposition to that which has been produced 
before. By that I mean it is possible for an 
individual to produce so strong a vibratory 
condition by keeping his consciousness con¬ 
trolled by happy, wholesome, constructive 
21 


22 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


thinking, and by acting according to his high¬ 
est thoughts, that he will neutralize the vibra¬ 
tions formerly caused by him. This does not 
work according to a decision to forgive the 
individual for his acts, but is worked out auto¬ 
matically by law. 

So you see that you are in reality the only 
individual whose decisions have a definite in¬ 
fluence upon you. Effect is always the auto¬ 
matic result of cause, and is worked out to its 
conclusion by the operation of law. Knowing 
this enables us to work with confidence, as we 
in time can be able to know exactly what to 
expect; for there comes a time when one is 
conscious of his previous accumulation of 
causes and therefore is able to know the 
future results to expect. We will in time be 
able to work with as much accuracy as the 
scientist does in his laboratory. There must 
always be a certain amount of that which is 
experimental, for there is an abundance of 
knowledge ahead of the student, and one does 
not really gain knowledge faster than he fits 
it in accurately and sequentially. It takes a 
rounded personality to work easily. Unless 
one is careful about filling in all crevices, one 
may gain a great deal of knowledge and still 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 23 


remain an unrounded character. In other 
words, if one does not complete the building 
along each of the lines begun, there will re¬ 
main the lack of fulfillment, and because of 
the partial accumulation the growth of the in¬ 
dividual will be affected undesirably. You 
have an expression that is a very apt one: 
“Jack of all trades and master of none.” 
That person may or may not have builded 
roundedly up to half a realization along 
several lines but completed none. It is well 
either to specialize on one accumulation until 
reaching the peak along that line, or else to 
build sequentially along the several lines of 
interest and be content with the seeming slow¬ 
ness of progress. It necessarily takes time to 
build and one can build in several ways. I 
think that the individual gets more encourage¬ 
ment when building along one line to the sum¬ 
mit, and then along another to the summit, 
and so on, as this gives the thrill of having ar¬ 
rived and alleviates much restlessness caused 
by the uncertainty of the peak of the unfin¬ 
ished. And on this physical plane the build¬ 
ing to the peak along one line means an ability 
to meet the requirements of this plane , fur¬ 
nishes one the money that is such an impor- 


24 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


tant medium of exchange so far as physical 
possessions go; and thereby frees the individual 
so he can build along other lines without the 
stress that comes from the lack of that me¬ 
dium. 

All the things of wealth are of value to one 
only as they feed the soul, thereby eliminating 
the longing and becoming an aid to growth. 
The attainment of wealth is to many individ¬ 
uals a definite stumbling-block to progress, 
but to others who are more advanced, it is 
a stepping-stone and interests them only 
as such. The desire to accumulate physical 
things is not necessarily an undesirable one, 
as it often urges one on and brings growth 
to the individual and affords him expression; 
therefore, if you have a very great longing for 
something, do not condemn it without consid¬ 
ering this fact. As long as you dwell on the 
physical plane you will need physical things, 
and to be able to master physical things is an 
attainment which is growth for the real self. 

You cannot draw a definite line between the 
physical, the mental, and the spiritual, for 
there is no definite dividing line; there is a 
merging from the one into the next higher. 
That is the reason why I say that the ability 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 25 


to control the things on the physical plane 
gives the individual growth. That growth is 
determined largely by the motive back of the 
acquiring. Of course, one does grow because 
of the experiences gained in the acquiring, for 
if a purely physical thing or money is the goal, 
it is not so very long before one discovers the 
lack of satisfaction in the possession of it and 
is forced to seek other things to quiet his rest¬ 
lessness. 

A young soul will revel in the physical joys 
and be content for a long time, but will 
eventually find that true satisfaction comes 
only through real growth. There is, how¬ 
ever, something to be gained from every ex¬ 
perience, and many times the most painful 
one brings the greatest growth and the most 
freedom. A thwarted attempt is to the de¬ 
termined soul a real spur to try again, and it 
is through our failures that we gain our most 
valuable points for success—if we are observ¬ 
ing enough to register them. Nothing is very 
interesting that has a constant sameness about 
it, and to change is to grow. To state it 
more accurately, growth necessitates change. 
It is the individual who learns from expe¬ 
rience that grows, and to be on the alert for 


26 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


our points of weakness, with an understanding 
that enables us to strengthen at those points, 
is to grow consciously. If you desire to be¬ 
come a success along some line, you must first 
consciously determine to do so and then you 
must become acquainted with the main points 
of that particular kind of work or business. 
This giving conscious attention to something 
is doing very much more than you realize to 
make that thing a reality. As you concen¬ 
trate along that line by thinking and planning 
for the results desired, you are setting in oper¬ 
ation forces which will cause you to contact 
facts, things, and people who are in vibratory 
contact with that particular power, and you 
will become affinitized to thought forces which 
will come into your mental realm as your own. 

You are a part of the universal, and all 
that you become connected with through your 
own efforts becomes yours. The more you 
appropriate the more you will attract; that is 
according to law. There is no force so strong 
that it can prevent your receiving your own, 
unless you permit it through negligence or by 
opposition caused by your own thought waves. 
You are permitted to draw on the universal as 
fast as you will, and it is truly said “Ask and 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 27 


ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock 
and the door shall be opened unto you.” 
Those are promises according to law. You 
do knock through your desires, thoughts, or 
fears, and the force you draw upon is deter¬ 
mined by the force that is drawing. There 
is nothing that is without a cause back of it, 
and the results are at all times according to 
the cause. 

We cannot always see the cause of things 
any more than we can see the acorn which 
was the cause of the oak, but we can know 
that universal law makes no mistakes and that 
there is a cause. The more accurately you 
trace back to the cause of things, the more 
you will be able to work with intelligence 
toward the results you desire; but when you 
cannot see the cause back of any particular 
result, do not perplex yourself over it but 
start right in to work consciously towards 
your goal, knowing that if you use your knowl¬ 
edge as far as it reaches, you will receive help 
according to law. 

It is not wise to become dependent on any 
person, persons, things, or forces to make 
your decisions for you, or to have them influ¬ 
ence you in making them, for it is only by 


28 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


practice that you learn by your decisions and 
only as you learn by your decisions do you 
progress. It is not right to make decisions 
for others, as they must profit by their own 
decisions instead of becoming dependent on 
another to make their decisions for them. 

You can many times harm an individual 
more by influencing him than you could help 
him, for remember that lessons are impressed 
much deeper when they are received through 
personal experience. That is why you so 
rarely profit permanently by the mistakes of 
others. Nevertheless it is indeed wise to 
learn from others instead of traveling the en¬ 
tire road; you can thereby take a definite 
short cut and save yourself much anguish. 
It takes an advanced individual to do this, 
but if you will do so as much as you can, it 
will make the going much easier. Growth is 
not always so noticeable to the one that is grow¬ 
ing; many times when you feel the most dis¬ 
couraged you are growing fastest and are on 
the verge of a new burst of conscious realiza¬ 
tion. Therefore do not permit yourself to 
become weary or discouraged. Take your 
recreation at the time when you have this 
feeling, and this change and rest will give 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 29 


you added strength to progress rapidly when 
the realization comes. Never allow yourself 
to take a very 'positive attitude in the decisions 
or in the growth of any one else, as that re¬ 
tards your growth as well as his, and only 
causes friction . You cannot force normal 
growth, but you can stimulate it at times if 
you will only maintain an attitude of under¬ 
standing and tolerance. You will find that 
attitude much more helpful and gratifying 
than the one that tries to compel. 

How frequently the parent because of over- 
anxiety tries to influence the child too force¬ 
fully for the good of either parent or child, 
and finds in the end nothing but disappoint¬ 
ment. All this happens because the parent 
is unduly interesting himself in the making 
of decisions for the child instead of realizing 
that growth does not come to the individual 
through outside decisions, and because the 
parent does not realize that being an example 
to the child is far more effective in the influ¬ 
ence cast over the child than all the other 
methods of teaching. 

If one would concern himself more with 
his own problems, knowing that others would 
profit by his example, instead of taking so 


30 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


much of the responsibility of other people’s 
growth, he would find the path smoother and 
would be a greater influence because of what 
he is, than he could ever be because of what 
he says. We are directly responsible for 
our own growth, and each step that we take 
enables us to see our next step more clearly 
because we have cleared the path to that point. 

You have frequently heard the quotation: 
“Do not cross a bridge before you come to 
it.” That is a very good one to remember 
—and use. Try to realize that you cannot 
solve a problem by becoming very emotional 
about it, any more than you can cross a bridge 
before reaching it. When you are emo¬ 
tional, you drop your greatest protector, 
your conscious reason, and you only muddy 
your vision and deaden your powers. It is 
just as futile to worry about anything as it 
would be to beat your head against a stone 
wall , hoping to solve your problem thereby . 
As the destructive emotions do affect you in a 
very similar way to the beating of your head, 
it takes some time for the individual to recover 
from the emotional cyclone. Of course, if 
one enjoys the emotional storms, let him in¬ 
dulge himself until he gets enough of them; 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 31 


but there is no way for him to avoid the con¬ 
sequences of such indulgences. One can 
modify the effects very perceptibly if one 
quiets the consciousness and soothes the feel¬ 
ings just after the storm, for that will do 
much to equalize the energies of the body and 
establish equilibrium; but it is impossible to 
avoid all the effects that the emotional condi¬ 
tion produces, as there are both physical and 
mental depletions caused by it. If people 
could see with their eyes what takes place 
under a depressing emotional spell, I believe 
it would cause them to refrain thereafter, as 
it is indeed a piteous sight. It causes a dis¬ 
turbance throughout the entire self, devastat¬ 
ing the physical, disorganizing the mental, 
and shattering the powers of the individual. 
It is indeed a real disaster. All emotional 
storms can be prevented if the individual will 
poise himself each morning upon waking and 
each night when retiring, and impress upon 
the subconscious mind the desire to remain 
quietly in command of himself at all times 
and under all circumstances . If you will do 
this, you will be able to meet all conditions 
of life intelligently and much more profitably, 
for when you make a decision under the con- 


32 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


scious poise, you have the benefit of your 
reasoning power, and under emotion the rea¬ 
soning power is very much weakened and 
may even be cut off. As we cannot possibly 
gain anything through emotional spells, it is 
indeed wise for us to try to keep poised at all 
times. The poised individual is the powerful 
individual, for he can focus his powers by his 
conscious decision instead of causing a division 
of his forces by an explosion. 

It is not even desirable to explode too fre¬ 
quently under joyful emotions, as it is not 
wise to over-stimulate the body in any way. 
However, this does not work detrimentally, 
like the unhappy emotions. Remember that 
there is a desirable medium in all things, and 
it is well to refrain from these two extremes. 
Be happy hut not hilarious , he poised hut not 
languidhe powerful hut not domineering , 
and you will be successful in the building of 
character and in the acquiring of the desirable 
things of life . After gaining poise and the 
control of the self, one can travel The Path 
with great facility because of the lack of fric¬ 
tion in the consciousness, and you will then be 
able to determine the direction you desire to 
travel by your conscious decisions. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 33 


Life will be so much happier if the individ¬ 
uals who associate together will give their 
attention to their own individual growth, per¬ 
mitting all others to do the same, and will 
maintain a tolerant attitude toward all. For 
the attitude of irritation disturbs your whole 
self and destroys the harmonious rhythm on 
all planes on which you express. It will not 
be difficult for one to do so if one will bear 
in mind the fact that nothing external 
to himself can affect him, except by his per¬ 
mission or by his neglect to choose. That 
applies to all people and things, even to those 
with whom one is in closest association. 
Many times the members of one’s own family 
make decisions that would seem to one to be 
entirely unwarranted and exceedingly unwise 
and even inconsiderate, but there is always a 
way to escape an unhappy reaction to such 
things, and that way is to rise above the 
emotional feeling by realizing that it only 
weakens, and that to become emotional can¬ 
not possibly help you to use your powers 
intelligently. The fact that people are very 
closely associated does not change the fact 
that each one is an individual and must neces¬ 
sarily express as such, and since it is obvious 


34 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


that no two individuals grow exactly alike 
but need different lessons, you can see why 
it is very necessary for each to be tolerant 
with the others. 

Perhaps the greatest lesson to he learned 
is tolerance, and the sooner one learns that 
lesson the sooner one becomes free from the 
painful effects produced by the irritation that 
comes from intolerance . You see, there is 
seldom anything accomplished by our irritable 
attitudes, and very frequently one only causes 
a reaction to the desirable path when one 
deals with others in an effort to force re¬ 
sponse according to his particular ideas. If 
you will watch carefully, you will observe that 
very few people respond to a domineering 
attitude from another; this is because each 
individual has an innate realization of his own 
individualism and automatically resents the 
undue pressure from the outside. If, how¬ 
ever, you could reach the consciousness of 
each through some connecting view-point, you 
would be able to get his willing cooperation, 
for when you do that, you reach that person 
through affinitization and get the desired re¬ 
sponse. For, you see, one cannot respond 
harmoniously to an antagonistic vibration. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 35 


In other words, the individual cannot be 
forced to take a step that is not his next step, 
nor can he be forced to grow along some line 
that is entirely foreign to him, whether it be 
something that he has long since passed or 
something that is away off in the future. 

If you were teaching two children in school, 
one of whom had passed his examinations 
very well in arithmetic but had failed utterly 
in history and whose present course of study 
was history, and the other had passed splen¬ 
didly in all studies except geography and 
whose present course of study was geography, 
you could not hope to teach them successfully 
by placing them together to meet each other’s 
view-points and to dictate to and govern each 
other, when they are interested along such 
different lines,—not just because they choose 
to be, but because they are. That is just the 
situation we find all individuals in as they 
grow, and that is why it is so useless for one 
to expect others to grow just as he would 
outline for them, because it is not possible 
for him to know exactly how they should grow. 
As this is all worked out according to law; it 
will work out perfectly without your manage¬ 
ment and one only loses much valuable time 


36 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


and energy fussing about these things. Con¬ 
sequently, if one would like to save oneself, 
it is wise to withdraw from such expression. 

To grow and to let others grow should be 
our motto, for it is the law, and the sooner we 
comply with it the smoother will be our prog¬ 
ress. 

There is no perfection on this earth , and it 
is quite useless to demand it. The fact that 
one has reached an advanced stage in his 
growth should not make him feel that he 
should condemn those who have not progressed 
so far as he has; and the truly advanced soul 
is usually much more tolerant than another 
who has not advanced so far and who lacks 
the ability to understand. 

We hear much talk about teaching people 
how to obtain spiritual growth, but it is just 
as illogical to expect an Individual to attain 
spiritual heights without learning to govern 
self in an emotional way and without learning 
the steps that lead up to it, as it would be to 
expect to send the children to college without 
first sending them to the preparatory schools 
where they gather the facts and knowledge 
that must necessarily be budded in before 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 37 


they can comprehend the lessons taught in 
college. 

We cannot expect to reach the summit of 
the mountain without passing over the inter¬ 
vening ground; and so it is in our climb to 
spiritual heights,—we do not become spiri¬ 
tually developed just as soon as we express 
the desire to do so, but must necessarily take 
the preceding steps, or, in other words, we 
must grow up to it; for to attain spiritual 
heights we must develop on the lower planes 
first. 

This does not mean, however, that as you 
work to attain on the physical, emotional, 
and mental planes you are at a standstill 
spiritually, for all growth adds to the per¬ 
fection of the entire self. You see, all growth 
is in reality spiritual growth, and it is impos¬ 
sible to draw a fixed and definite line between 
the spiritual and the material. 

It is impossible for one to withdraw from 
the spiritual things, as The Plan is so ar¬ 
ranged as to cause the individual to grow 
whether he realizes it or not, and regardless 
of how he labels his growth. 

We speak of good and evil, and some speak 


38 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


of the good that comes from God and the 
evil that comes from Satan. There is no such 
division. Are you not told “All things work 
together for good to those who love the 
Lord”? 

Now if you will stop to reason things out, 
you will be able to see the great good that 
must ultimately come to the individual who 
gets his lessons through those experiences 
which we condemn as being most evil. If he is 
expressing to the fullest extent in the evil 
ways, he will, of course, get the fullest meas¬ 
ure of the corresponding reaction to those 
things, and he will ultimately choose, of his 
own free will, to eliminate the tendency that 
he has in that direction, for he will have got¬ 
ten a valuable lesson from his experiences 
and will automatically turn toward higher 
things. He will then choose to learn his les¬ 
sons in a more intelligent way and in a much 
easier way. 

Is this not working together for good? In 
God’s Plan it is true that all things work to 
teach the individual the desirability of con¬ 
sciously choosing to work with God’s Plan. 

You see, there is no coercion nor force used 
in getting this cooperation, but the individual 



THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 39 


chooses his own path, and by getting the result 
of his own choice he in time learns to choose 
wisely. So it is that some choose the path of 
satiation while others choose the path of care¬ 
ful selection, and each must learn his lessons 
in his own way. 

It is a mistake for the individual to try to 
run God’s Plan for Him, for it is indeed a 
tremendous plan, and as it is being run with 
Divine wisdom, it is very presumptuous for 
the individual to think that he could improve 
upon it. The only way that this earth plane 
will become harmonious and happy is for the 
individuals here to become harmonious and 
happy, for the conditions here will always be 
just what the individuals here make them. 

We make a mistake when we grieve about 
the seemingly undesirable conditions that ex¬ 
ist on this earth, for there are no undesirable 
conditions. All conditions are very valuable 
to the individuals in them, as they are grow¬ 
ing and learning because of them. If one 
can realize that this is a school, it will help 
one very much to feel undisturbed about The 
Plan, for it would seem foolish indeed for one 
to grieve when in school because all the pu¬ 
pils of that school were not in the same grade 


40 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


as he, whether in a grade higher than his or 
in a lower grade. Cannot he realize that it 
is necessary for those in the lower grades to 
cover the same preparatory lessons that he 
covered in the lower grades, and cannot he 
realize his ability to pass through the higher 
grades after he has gained the knowledge 
that is the foundation to the knowledge given 
in those higher grades? 


CHAPTER IV 


Why People Are Not Born Equal—Birth Not the Beginning— 
There Are No Gifts of Abilities—How Parents Are 
Chosen—How to Work Out of Undesirable Conditions— 
Intelligently Administering Punishment—The Responsi¬ 
bility of the Teacher. 


It is, of course, unnecessary to say here 
that the people on this earth are not all 
equally advanced, and that there is a differ¬ 
ence in the capacities of the different individ¬ 
uals. We have long claimed that all people 
are born equal, but we all know that they are 
not, and intelligent people who have given 
their attention to this subject have not tried 
to accept this statement because it is perfectly 
obvious that they are not equal. 

It is hardly possible that there is one who 
lives who is not familiar with the fact that 
there are babies born into very poor homes, 
while other babies are born into very wealthy 
homes, that some are born to diseased and un¬ 
fit parents who cause them to start life with 
diseased and unfit bodies, while others come 

41 


42 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


to strong healthy parents and have strong, 
healthy bodies to start with. Why some child 
is born to healthy, intelligent parents but is 
born with a deformed body could not be ex¬ 
plained by physical heredity. Then there are 
the different races with the different general 
capacities and limitations of each particular 
race, such as the negro race, which is very dif¬ 
ferent from the white race. Very few people 
have even made an effort to believe these two 
races equal, as it is so perfectly evident that 
they are not only physically different but are 
mentally and morally different and cannot be 
called equal in any sense of the word. 

It would be impossible to assume that this 
condition were just if all individuals were be¬ 
ginning to exist upon entering this life; for if 
the beginning were the birth of the child into 
this world, then that would indicate an unfair 
start, because one who finds himself in a very 
miserable situation physically, mentally, and 
in other ways, would have a right to complain 
about the partiality of The Plan. It would 
not be quite fair for God to give wonderful 
talents and abilities to some few chosen ones, 
and to forget entirely about the rest of His 
children, and He does no such thing. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 43 


Each soul starts with an equal chance in the 
beginning, but the entrance into this world is 
not the beginning, for all souls have gone 
through numerous lives previous to this life 
and have in those former lives progressed 
through many stages. The process of evolu¬ 
tion is somewhat slow and is fairly uniform 
until the graduation of the soul from the lower 
animal kingdom into the human kingdom, at 
which time the individual becomes consciously 
aware of his individuality. 

The human kingdom is composed of individ¬ 
uals in various stages of evolution or growth, 
and that difference is the reason we find some 
without so-called talents or abilities while we 
find others who manifest abilities at a very 
early age. Many times very young children 
who manifest such abilities are called child 
prodigies. There are other advanced indivi¬ 
duals called geniuses. These individuals, 
who have remarkable abilities which have been 
called talents, or gifts, have earned them by 
their own efforts in some previous life. 
There are no gifts, and anything that comes 
to an individual comes because of what that 
individual has built up. This is in accord¬ 
ance with law. 


44 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


There are no abilities given to individuals. 
You see, if there were such a thing as God- 
given talents and only a few people possessed 
them, we would have to acknowledge that 
God showed partiality to those few and such 
a procedure would not be justice. 

As we study the laws of the universe, we 
find that they are exact and absolute and that 
they change for no man. It would not be in 
accordance with the rest of The Plan for 
God to have a chosen few whom He would 
favor while the rest of the individuals got 
along as best they could without His gifts. It 
is impossible to come to any other conclusion 
about The Plan for the growth of the indi¬ 
vidual than that he has come into this life with 
all the abilities and knowledges that he has 
gained in all his previous experiences in his 
former lives. Whatever he expressed in his 
former lives is indicated by his present con¬ 
ditions, and his environment at present is al¬ 
ways the result of the past. Even the par¬ 
ents that a soul comes to upon entrance into 
this world are chosen by vibratory law. Hav¬ 
ing learned this law, it is not very difficult to 
see why some souls come to healthy parents, 
while others come to diseased parents. The 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 45 

child born to healthy parents is the individual 
who has in the past lives complied with law 
to that extent; or, to state it a little more 
clearly, that soul did not use his powers de¬ 
structively in the past and did not have to 
bring over the severe effects of violation of law; 
while the soul that comes to diseased parents 
has created that condition for himself by his 
violation of law in the past. 

Of course , some would try to explain the 
diseased condition by physical heredity , but if 
law did not so operate as to draw to those 
parents an individual soul who had by his own 
violations attracted that condition to himself, 
then it would have to be that an innocent soul 
would have to suffer through physical hered¬ 
ity because of the violations of others . This 
would be extremely unjust, and the helpless 
would always be the ones who suffered, and 
they would not have a fair opportunity to 
work out their growth. 

The Plan is so accurately worked out that 
it would not be possible for an individual to 
get into an environment to which he had not 
attuned himself in some way by his own work 
in former expression. By that I mean that 
it would be impossible unless through his own 


46 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


thoughts, acts, or decisions he had set into op¬ 
eration the cause that brought about that 
result. 

The scientist knows very well the differ¬ 
ence in the attraction of the different metals 
and that he cannot through choice change 
them, except as he through some process 
changes the vibratory conditions of them so 
that he can produce the affinitized conditions 
desired. 

The chemist knows well that he cannot mix 
two chemicals that are opposites 1 and get har¬ 
monious results. The Plan is absolutely ac¬ 
curate in all things, although man is not yet 
fully aware of this accuracy. It would be im¬ 
possible for a soul to step into an environment 
that it was not affinitized to in some way. 
This does not mean that it would be affinitized 
to the parents in all ways, but that there 
always is a definite point of contact; for ex¬ 
ample, if you were to investigate, you would 
find some superior intelligences in some of the 

1 “Opposites” here does not mean the electrical charges of 
chemicals, as “positive” and “negative” ions in an ionized 
solution, but is applied to elements such as iodine and nitro¬ 
gen which are “opposites” insofar as vibratory harmony is 
concerned .—The Editor. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 47 


individuals of all races. In the negro race 
there are some individuals who have pro¬ 
gressed much farther than the negro race as a 
whole; nevertheless those individuals had a 
greater affinity for that race and those condi¬ 
tions than for any other. 

The predominant qualities of the individ¬ 
ual determine the environment of that individ¬ 
ual, and the placing of the individual is done 
by law and not by any choosing until the 
individual has progressed far enough to com¬ 
ply consciously with law, at which time, 
because of his knowledge and conscious 
cooperation, he is able to determine to a very 
great degree his environment. All souls will 
advance to the stage ultimately when they 
will be able to control consciously all things 
pertaining to self developments, and then they 
will go on to still higher growth wherein they 
attain mastership over things external to an 
almost unlimited degree. 

It is a wise Plan that hides from the soul 
just beginning its growth the long path of 
progress ahead of it, as that realization would 
tend to bewilder and discourage it. Conse¬ 
quently The Plan permits the individual to 
look into the future but a little way, for if the 


48 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


individual will go forward just as fast as he 
can, he will always see the road ahead, as it 
is an unending road of progress. It is better 
to work intelligently with the here and now, 
for the only reality that you can ever know 
is always the present. 

The greatest step toward the attainment of 
growth for the individual is that which is his 
problem at the present moment . It is futile 
to say that one would grow if one were in a 
different environment or under different con¬ 
ditions. If that were true, that is just where 
he would be placed by the operation of law. 
Just as soon as one works out the problem 
before him, the opening to the next higher 
will come, and it is only a waste of time to 
wish that things were different; they will be 
different just as fast as you make them dif¬ 
ferent by consciously meeting each thing as 
it comes and intelligently working it out. 

If one rebels against the conditions about 
him, he is only involving himself in those con¬ 
ditions instead of getting away from them, for 
by his spirit of rebellion to law he is refusing 
to progress. There is no possibility of 
changing natural law, and your only road to 
freedom is to gain knowledge of law, so that 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 49 


you can consciously cooperate with it. 
When such cooperation is maintained there 
will be joy in the progress. There is in 
reality no road to happiness except conscious 
compliance with law, because that brings 
with it the realization of progress, and the 
realization of progress is the most satisfying 
feeling that can come to one. 

One person finds supreme joy in progress¬ 
ing along one line of growth, because that is 
his most necessary lesson for the now, while 
another individual would be miserable trying 
to progress along that same line, because that 
is not his needed lesson for the present. 
Consequently each must learn the lessons 
that are the requirements for him at the 
present time. 

If you can get the realization of The Plan, 
it will become very much easier for you to re¬ 
frain from either criticising or pitying those 
about you , for that realization will enable you 
to see the value of all experience. That does 
not mean that one should do away with helping 
sometimes,—intelligently. By that I mean, 
helping others to help themselves. That is 
the only intelligent way to help others, for it 
is the only kind of help that has a beneficial 


50 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


effect on the growth of the individual who 
receives it. 

There is also much to consider when it 
comes to dealing with people whom you must 
punish. Remember that they can see things 
only from their view-points, and their view¬ 
points are determined by their state of growth. 
Therefore in punishing, let your methods be 
those that will instruct and teach, instead of 
the methods that antagonize and bewilder, 
for punishment should be administered with 
the desire to help the individual to find him¬ 
self and get back on The Path. If your 
motives are always good and constructive, 
you will deal justly as far as your vision per¬ 
mits you to see; and one can only do the best 
according to his light on The Path. 

This fact is true of all souls, and it is not 
for us to judge them. Only as it becomes 
necessary for the protection of others, do we 
have the right to interfere with their methods. 
Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and The 
Plan, operating as it does, will mete out to 
each exactly what he has built up for him¬ 
self. A realization of this law makes it easier 
for us to stand aside and permit the law to 
determine the reaction. This law is a force 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 51 

that governs all, and therefore we must re¬ 
member that our responsibility is keeping our¬ 
selves consciously cooperating with the law of 
The Plan. 

Next we have to consider the extent to 
which we are either obligated or privileged 
to teach or help others in their growth and 
development. You ‘are not directly respon¬ 
sible for others, except by your own choice 
or by the responsibility assumed by you in 
your associations. As previously stated, you 
are indebted to those to whom you are ob¬ 
ligatorily attached, only on account of debts 
incurred by your own actions. The law says 
“Seek and ye shall find,” and unless the 
knowledge is sought, you are not directly re¬ 
sponsible if it is not given out; for if any 
individual is ready for further knowledge of 
The Plan and is earnestly seeking it, that 
individual is sure to come in contact with a 
source of knowledge that will meet his needs. 

There is a responsibility attached to giving 
out knowledge, and it is wise to give it only 
to those you know to be ready to receive and 
understand it without being bewildered by it. 
This possibility is mostly eliminated by the 
one giving out the knowledge if he is careful 


52 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


to begin at the point that is the point of con¬ 
tact with the one being taught; or, in other 
words, if lie will clarify and simplify the 
knowledge given so as to meet the conscious¬ 
ness of the young student along these lines. 

You should never conclude that others are 
stupid because they cannot get your view¬ 
point or see things as you see them, for you 
must always bear in mind the fact that each 
can see through his own mental sight only, 
and that to have another see an idea you must 
bring that idea into the scope of the mental 
vision of that person. To express it more 
clearly, I will say that you cannot expect to 
transfer a realization to another just because 
it is so very clear to you, unless you express 
or explain it to that other person while look¬ 
ing at it from his angle , thereby making it 
clear to him. It would be just as reasonable 
for a Frenchman to explain his ideas to you 
in the most perfect French at his command, 
expecting you to understand it just as well as 
he does, when in fact you know nothing about 
French. 

Two people trying to make themselves un¬ 
derstood may both be very intelligent people 
and yet may not be able to understand the 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 53 


views of each other without a great deal of 
“going over it” from both angles, thereby 
coming to a common understanding. It is as 
if one were approaching a building from the 
front of it, while another was approaching 
the same building from the rear; they could 
both describe the building as they saw it from 
their respective angles, and each would be cor¬ 
rect according to what he saw, but each would 
be entirely unjustified in declaring that his 
description of the building was the only cor¬ 
rect one. Consequently it would be useless 
for them to attempt to come to an understand¬ 
ing without taking each other to their respec¬ 
tive sides in order to get the sight of the 
building from both angles. 

When instructing others, it is well to classify 
your teachings in four groups: first, the facts 
that have been proved enough times to be 
called scientifically proved facts; second, those 
that you have reason to believe to be facts be¬ 
cause of seeing the results; third, those that 
you believe should be true because of preced¬ 
ing facts; and fourth, those ideas which you 
believe because of your interpretation of the 
things that have helped you. If you will do 
this, you will free yourself from any obliga- 


54 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


tion that might otherwise come because of the 
way your teachings were accepted and used, 
and you will prevent yourself from placing 
upon others a limitation that may be due en¬ 
tirely to your misconception of the real law. 

I do not want it understood that a teacher 
is responsible for the interpretations placed 
upon his teachings by his individual pupils, 
for if in the presentation of these teachings 
his spirit has been of true helpfulness, and he 
has clarified to the best of his ability, then he 
has done all that is expected of him, and his 
pupils are vibratorily affected by the spirit he 
put in his work as definitely as by what he 
taught. In many cases much more help is 
received in that way than through the spoken 
word. 


CHAPTER V 


Vibratory Law—Many Vibrations Not Registered By Phys¬ 
ical Senses—How We Attune Ourselves—How Outside 
Forces Influence Us—The Vibratory Effect of Music— 
What the “Psychic Atmosphere” Really Is—Voluntary and 
Involuntary Sensitives—The Atmosphere of the Person— 
Factors Determining Possession—The Law for Attaining 
Your Desires. 

Everything that is, is controlled by vibra¬ 
tory law, and everything that is, is vibration. 
The quality of the vibration determines the 
form of the expression. The vibrations that 
are visibly registered on the physical plane are 
limited. 

There are many vibratory conditions on the 
physical plane that are riot visible to the eye. 
Some of those vibrations are registered by any 
one of the other physical senses; other vibra¬ 
tions are not definitely felt or registered by 
any except the very sensitive individuals. 

When we begin the study of vibrations, we 
are delving into an unlimited field which, if 
thoroughly understood, would encompass in¬ 
finite knowledge as yet undreamed of by men. 

55 


56 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


All the knowledge of vibration and vibratory 
law on the earth plane is but a drop in the 
bucket compared to the story of the whole. 
The scientist speaks of “inert matter,” but 
there is no inertia in The Plan. All forms of 
mjatter have action within, and that mineral or 
metal which seems to be an inert mass is not a 
solid mass at all but is composed of billions of 
tiny particles which are vibrating at such a 
rate that the vibration cannot be detected by 
the physical eye. 

This same thing is true of all seemingly 
inert matter, and the difference in the com¬ 
position of the particles of that matter and the 
rate at which they vibrate determine its plane 
of manifestation and its form, color, and 
weight. 

As the scientist learns more about the vibra¬ 
tory law and can work more intelligently with 
the different rates of vibration, he will be able 
to get more accurate results as he works. The 
scientists already have made wonderful prog¬ 
ress that is unknown to the world at the pres¬ 
ent time, which will bring changes as yet 
undreamed of within a reasonably short time. 

The vibrations of the mental plane are finer 
than those of the physical plane and are only 


) 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 57 


contacted through the mental. Each individ¬ 
ual has his own peculiar rate of vibration for 
the physical body and also for the mental 
body, and he changes his vibrations both in his 
physical and mental bodies by his emotional 
reactions ( and his thought conditions. Those 
thought conditions attune him to those vibra¬ 
tions that are harmonious to the kind of 
thoughts that are strongest in his mental self. 

Each thought vibrates according to the na¬ 
ture of the thought,—happy thoughts vibrate 
at a higher speed than the unhappy thoughts, 
and are in an entirely different class; the mor¬ 
bid, unhappy thoughts are of a very low 
vibration; the angry, hateful thoughts are of a 
low 1 but rapid, uneven vibration; the love and 
joy thoughts are of a fine, rapid, light vibra¬ 
tion. As the individual thinks along any of 
these lines, he contacts the vibration of that 
kind, for he affinitizes himself to it and makes 
immediate contact. 2 Just as you make light 
immediately by turning your electric switch, 

1 Probably “low” here means “of a comparatively small am¬ 
plitude .”—The Editor. 

2 “Contact” in this sense has the same meaning as it has in 
the following: “As one turns the knob on the tuner of a 
radio telephone receiving set, one contacts many different send¬ 
ing stations as they are tuned in and out .”—The Editor. 


58 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


so do you make immediate contact through 
your mental or emotional switches. 

The morbid, destructive vibrations are the 
coarse heavy vibrations, and the happy, joyful 
vibrations are the fine, light vibrations, and 
you get the reactions in the physical and men¬ 
tal bodies that are produced according to the 
vibrations contacted by your thought creations, 
—the clearer the thought that is sent from 
your mind, the more direct will be the contact 
with that particular wave motion. There is 
in the atmosphere in which you live the essence 
of vibratory waves, and you only draw from 
that bank of vibration that which you contact. 
To clarify this a little more, I will say that 
often you will find many moods in one large 
room where many people are gathered to¬ 
gether. These many moods are formed out 
of the same surroundings by the many individ¬ 
uals. We might have wondered at times 
how a comparatively large number of people 
could differ so much under the same condi¬ 
tions. That they are gathered together under 
the same roof does not necessarily affinitize 
them to the same vibratory effects except 
when some very forceful vibration is used such 
as music, which suggests dancing or some very 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 59 


happy form of expression. The opposite 
feelings can be produced by music of a 
violent nature which excites the people 
to wild and turbulent feelings. At such 
times almost every individual will respond 
automatically to the powerful vibratory effect 
produced by the music, and there is a close 
unity of all who are under that influence. 
They are, for the time, vibrating to the same 
chord. But aside from those conditions, each 
person attunes himself to his own according to 
his individual thought condition. 

Always in coming into contact with another 
individual, you are either influenced by that 
individual or he is influenced by you, and the 
one that has the stronger influence is the one 
who has the most positive mental attitude at 
the time of the contact. The one who has the 
unguarded, receptive attitude is influenced by 
those about him; he is always a person of 
moods. 

Everything that one comes in contact with 
has its peculiar vibratory effect on him if he is 
receptive to it. Every city or town has its 
“psychic atmosphere.” That is simply a term 
which means that it has its vibrations which are 
there because they have been created by the 


60 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


individuals dwelling therein. The whole at¬ 
mosphere is full of the kinds of vibrations that 
have been produced by all of the minds there. 

The vibrations that are the strongest in the 
psychic atmosphere of a place will be the ones 
that will be felt by the negative personality. 
However, another person might go into that 
same vibratory condition and get in touch with 
entirely different vibrations than those received 
by the negative person, because he would con¬ 
tact according to that thought which was his 
positive mental thought condition. There are 
some people who feel sure that the influence 
cast over them in their home town is a definite 
influence which holds them down. In many 
cases this is true; they were reared in that 
atmosphere and have not taken a positive at¬ 
titude toward anything, but have just been 
drifting according to the most powerful vibra¬ 
tory conditions at any given time. They have 
become negative. But it is not the city or the 
town that is to blame in such cases; for until 
those individuals take charge of their person¬ 
alities, they will be receptive to any vibratory 
influence anywhere. 

There is a decided difference between a neg¬ 
ative personality and a person who can be- 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 61 


conxe sensitive to vibrations at will and thereby 
ascertain the vibratory influences in and about 
a place. It is necessary to learn to govern 
your positive and receptive conditions; all can 
do this in time. Each home has the vibrations 
that have been produced by the individuals who 
associate in that home, and many people feel 
the influence upon entering there without 
knowing why they feel it or what it is. 

Those people who sense the atmosphere of 
places are sensitive and should learn to direct 
their consciousnesses so as to protect them 
from building undesirable impressions. There 
are others who do not feel the vibrations of the 
places they go into, because they maintain such 
a positive attitude of their own thoughts that 
they are not receptive to anything that does 
not harmonize with their mental attitudes (that 
is, what they are aflinitized to). Those in¬ 
dividuals do not understand the possibilities of 
such things as the sensitive people are getting 
through their receptive attitudes. 

Each individual has his personal atmos¬ 
phere, which is as it is because of the vibrations 
that are produced by his whole consciousness. 
But the vibrations that you feel the strongest 
when in his presence are the vibrations that are 


62 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


predominant at that particular time. Conse¬ 
quently we have, in the past, said that we felt 
comfortable with a certain person, while with 
another person we felt very uncomfortable. 
There will be times when you will feel close to 
an individual, while at other times you will feel 
anything but close to that same individual. 
This is sometimes due to your own positive con¬ 
dition’s shutting your mental door, thereby 
keeping out the vibrations of that person; or 
it may be due entirely to the fact that the vibra¬ 
tory emanation of that individual is of such a 
nature as to cause the feeling that you have. 
In other words, you are sometimes receptive 
to vibrations from outside sources because you 
are not dominating your mind with positive 
thoughts, while at other times you are recep¬ 
tive to vibrations because of the positive 
thought which dominates your mind and con¬ 
nects you with that vibration. 

You connect yourself with many things be¬ 
sides thought vibrations by the vibrations you 
create by concentrated thought; for just as 
everything is vibration, so do you connect with 
everything vibratorily, when you comply with 
the vibratory law which controls or connects 
with that especial vibration. In fact, that is 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 63 


the only way that you ever do contact any¬ 
thing. It would be impossible for you to 
contact a thing to which you were not attuned 
in some way vibratorily. 

You meet people every day, and to some of 
those people you are attuned most harmo¬ 
niously because you are affinitized along sev¬ 
eral lines of thought; those are your points of 
contact. You meet other people whom you 
feel antagonistic toward, but still you do con¬ 
tact those people and there is a point of con¬ 
tact. It may be your greatest weakness or 
your best developed ability, but you do con¬ 
tact vibratorily. I have stated before that 
there are in the subconscious mind all of 
your stored up abilities. Let me say here 
that there is also in that same storehouse 
the total accumulation of all weaknesses 
that have not yet been eliminated and the 
entire accumulation of all that you have 
ever built into it, regardless of its nature. 
That is the place from which the threads of 
contact are thrown out which bring you into 
contact with everything that you contact. 

When you have worked out of a condition 
entirely, you will not contact it directly; there¬ 
fore you may be sure that if you come in touch 


64 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


with a condition, there is a point of contact 
else you could not come in touch with it. To 
state it more accurately, there is in you a point 
of contact for that condition, whether you are 
consciously aware of it or not. You are con¬ 
scious of but little that is the real cause of the 
life you are in and the cause of the things that 
come into it, but you could not possibly contact 
a thing unless there was extending out from 
you a vibratory thread to which that thing 
could fasten, and the permanency of the things 
that come to you will be determined by the 
strength of the vibratory connection between 
you and the thing that comes. 

If The Plan could be shown you in all its in¬ 
tricacy, you would be able to trace very ac¬ 
curately, from the beginning of the conscious 
expression of the individual, every single con¬ 
tact ever made by that soul, and you would see 
the fine threads of affinitization between that 
individual and everything ever contacted by 
that individual. Consequently it is according 
to your affinitizations that you are in your par¬ 
ticular environment, that you meet the people 
you do meet, and that you receive all the things 
that you do receive, whether of a physical or 
of a mental nature; for all matter is vibra- 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 65 


tion, and whether it is in material form or 
clothed in finer vibrations, all matter, even the 
densest, is controlled by vibratory law. 
Therefore, even the coarse physical things 
come to you because of the vibratory connec¬ 
tion you have established, and you will find 
yourself drawing unto yourself even the physi¬ 
cal friends, associates, and possessions accord¬ 
ing to the sum total of your vibratory connec¬ 
tions. 

When you become interested along certain 
lines of thought, you come in contact with 
people of the same thought interest more than 
you had realized was possible, and you begin 
to discover in newspapers, magazines, books, 
and other writings many more articles along 
that line of thought than you had noticed be¬ 
fore; for previous to your thinking along that 
line you were not affinitized to those things and 
did not contact them. As you become inter¬ 
ested along any line of thought, you automat¬ 
ically send out feelers which locate other things 
of the same vibratory quality, and you are 
caused to become consciously aware of them. 
You will find this to be true of all things: the 
more you acquire along any line, the more you 
are vibratorily connected with things of a like 


66 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


vibration. “To him that hath shall be given, 
from him that hath not shall be taken away 
even that which he hath.” This is in accord 
with vibratory law, for as one accumulates 
along any line, he affinitizes himself to things 
vibratorily connected with that line. As the 
accumulation grows, the attracting vibration 
becomes stronger and tends to increase rapidly 
the accumulation drawn in order to complete 
the store of possessions. When the accumula¬ 
tion is small, and the individual does not wisely 
direct his powers so as to add to it, he weakens 
his attracting force and loses his already ac¬ 
cumulated stock. Anything that has been ac¬ 
quired sequentially, according to law, is fitted 
in and becomes a permanently acquired pos¬ 
session, and there is no loss of it; but anything 
that is not fitted in accurately may be only a 
temporary possession. 

I want you to realize that nothing is given 
to you nor taken away from you except by the 
reactions to your own causes which have been 
created by you. And as you consciously di¬ 
rect your powers for the attainment of any¬ 
thing you desire, you will set up vibratory 
forces which will operate to bring to you 
the thing for which you are consistently work- 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 67 


ing, and you will be drawing upon an unlim¬ 
ited storehouse which yields to you in ex¬ 
act proportion to your demands which have 
reached it, only through the vibratory forces 
made active by you. 

Therefore, if you are desirous of working 
out of your present conditions, whatever they 
are, it is necessary for you to use all your 
forces toward that end. If you will con¬ 
sciously work toward the realization of that 
goal by directing all your actions in a way 
that will lead you out from those conditions 
and then keep yourself constantly attuned to 
the vibratory influences that free you, you 
will bring into play forces that will guide you 
into the conditions that you desire; for you 
will have so closely aflinitized yourself to the 
desired conditions that you will be automat¬ 
ically drawn into them. 

This is true no matter whether your 
goal is a poised consciousness or a new home; 
for the vibrations of the physical things are 
just as responsive to the vibratory contact as 
are the vibratory forms on other planes, but 
are realized as concrete only when they have 
been contacted according to physical vibra¬ 
tions. 


68 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


The undivided desire force does, however, 
throw the individual into direct contact with 
the methods for attaining whatever is desired. 
This is law. Of course, it must be a real and 
unmixed desire that will place the individual 
in direct contact with the realization of any 
goal. 

Only things that are very harmonious vi- 
bratorily will blend into real connection. 
There is very much to learn about the various 
kinds of vibration, and the individual is not 
yet ready to comprehend the whole story; for 
the story complete is the story of the universe, 
and only the Infinite comprehends it clearly. 
We might build up to great heights in the 
study of it, but that would only be sequential 
fitting for the few. Every one, however, is 
able to understand the general outline of the 
study of vibrations—enough to enable him to 
order his life more intelligently. If you can 
realize that your thought power creates vibra¬ 
tions in wave shapes, in just as exact forms 
as the definite waves that go out in circular 
form on the top of the water when you throw 
a stone into it to see the circles caused by 
that vibratory disturbance—except that in the 
mental realm the vibrations are very much 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 69 


finer and more rapid—you will be able to 
understand the workings of those finer vibra¬ 
tions, whether you will be able to register them 
or not. 


CHAPTER VI 


The Most Powerful Influence Not Visible—The Importance 
of Thought Control—Danger in Dabbling in Psychic 
Explorations—What a Master Is—The Phenomena of 
Sleep—How to Make the Going Easy—The Effects of 
Opposing The Plan—Carried Over Abilities—The Only 
Method of Acquiring Abilities—The Lives of the Soul— 
The Change Called Death—The Inferior Races—Their 
Cause and Purpose—A Wonderful Promise for the Aged— 
The Effects of Cruelty—The Physical World a School— 
Intuitive Recognition of Facts—Interest and its Effects. 


The most powerful influences on this plane 
are not the visible forces; they are those forces 
detected by few, but ever active. You are 
constantly contacting some of those forces, 
but only to the extent to which you affinitize 
yourself to them through your thought con¬ 
ditions. 

The reason that we emphasize thought con¬ 
trol is because action of body is always pre¬ 
ceded by action of mind, or by thought. Con¬ 
sequently in training yourself in thought 
control, you are necessarily training yourself 
to control your acts, and in time, when you 
can control all phases of self, you will be able 

70 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 71 

to express volitionally on all planes; for you 
are at the present time expressing on more 
than just the visible plane, whether you are 
consciously aware of it or not, and it is a very 
wise provision of The Plan that keeps from 
the individual the realization of all that tran¬ 
spires on all of the planes on which he 
expresses in his different phases of conscious¬ 
ness. It is better for the individual first to 
be able to govern his feelings on the physical 
and emotional planes before he attempts con¬ 
sciously to inspect or explore other and less 
familiar planes, where he would be sure to 
have some emotional tests which would prove 
detrimental to him if he weakened under 
them. Therefore it is necessary to continue 
your expression along the more familiar lines 
of growth until you reach a definite point of 
poise; then, when you are intelligently inter¬ 
ested, you will have the opportunity presented 
to you, because you will be ready for that step 
and will be able to profit thereby. 

It is very unwise for an individual to become 
emotionally interested in any kind of phe¬ 
nomenon which he is going into because of its 
promise of an excitement or thrill; for he is 
going into things that he knows not of, and he 


72 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


is very apt to go into them unprepared to 
meet them intelligently or to protect himself 
by choosing wisely. It is to the advantage of 
the individual to give his attention to the 
things that bring real development, and if he 
is interested in thrills or exciting things, let 
him choose something that he knows to be at 
least harmless; for one is inviting the reaction 
from any experience that he volitionally goes 
into, and he cannot avoid it just because he 
does not know what it is going to be. 

It is necessary to go into everything with 
conscious awareness so as to protect yourself. 
When a baby plays with fire just to amuse 
himself, he gets burned because he does not 
know enough about fire to handle it intel¬ 
ligently. He may have been perfectly inno¬ 
cent of any desire to cause disaster and still 
have set the house or himself on fire. His 
desire for a thrill was over-satisfied in such a 
case; but the fact that he was ignorant did 
not prevent the damage, loss, and suffering. 
Ignorance does not protect, and the results of 
ignorantly using your forces are automatic. 
Your only permanent protection is knowledge. 

Real knowledge is not something that has 
been accepted as a belief, but is something 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 73 

that has become a realization in the conscious¬ 
ness. Intellectual knowledge is the know¬ 
ledge which an individual has without having 
the will to put it to use, while spiritualized 
knowledge or realizations is knowledge which 
has been made operative in the life of the 
individual. The more knowledge that the 
individual has, the more he is obligated to use 
it in his life, no matter what planes he may 
be existing on. As soon as surface knowledge 
has become a realization, one will be very much 
more eager to put it to use, as one will see the 
surety of reaction from ignorance or neglect 
to govern by the conscious decision. A Mas¬ 
ter is one who has arrived at the point of con¬ 
trol by conscious decision on all planes and 
conscious awareness at all times. Therefore 
he is always able to direct his powers intelli¬ 
gently and determine his results accurately. 
One can work toward Mastership only as he 
controls his consciousness on all planes to the 
best of his ability and lives to the height of 
his realization. For as he does this, he will 
not only develop strength in the doing, but he 
will constantly affinitize himself to the higher 
steps, and he will be taking them consciously. 

There are many planes of manifestation, 


74 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


some of which you are functioning on in your 
various states of consciousness. The physical 
plane is the one with which you are most famil¬ 
iar, and it is the one which you are best 
equipped to function on consciously at the 
present time or you would not remain there 
for long. There are other planes which you 
do function on at times, but not in your phys¬ 
ical body. 

When you sleep, you many times go to a 
plane with which you are vibratorily connected, 
but you express on that plane in a body of 
different substance than that which composes 
your physical body, for you are clothed in a 
body of similar vibrations to the matter of 
that plane. You come back to consciousness 
sometimes aware of what has taken place, but 
very few individuals are able to connect con¬ 
sciously with the experiences of that plane, 
and that is why they can bring back to con¬ 
sciousness so little that is clearly understand¬ 
able. All people do not function on the same 
plane at those times, for the plane on which 
one functions and the kinds of experiences he 
has are determined by the thing which is 
uppermost in the consciousness of the individ- 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 75 


ual having the experience. All so-called 
dreams are not this sort of experience, but 
many of them are; the most that the average 
individual is aware of is that he has had a 
pleasant or an unpleasant dream. 

The individual who is absorbed in pleasure 
seeking is most attuned to the frivolous expres¬ 
sions, while the individual who is dominated by 
fears is affinitized to the things feared. Be¬ 
cause of the power added by the emotional 
feeling, that which is strongest in the con¬ 
sciousness will be the most powerful and effec¬ 
tive magnet, for always it is the strongest 
which rules. Therefore, in studying the ex¬ 
pression on the various planes, we come back 
to the realization that the thought force of the 
individual is the determining factor, for that 
thought force has to do with the building of all 
the bodies of the individual and thereby de¬ 
termines the individual’s magnetism on all 
planes, and his magnetism determines that 
which he draws to him or that into which he is 
drawn. Consequently it is needless to go into 
the study of volitional functioning on other 
planes until the individual can control his 
thought conditions that are the center of all 


76 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


his expression; whether he choose it or not, 
that is what determines what he contacts on 
any plane on which he works. 

All that is necessary for an individual to do 
is to prepare himself thoroughly for the 
thing desired; he will thereby automat¬ 
ically attune himself to it vibratorily, and it 
will open to him because of the operation of 
that law with which he has accurately complied. 

After one has gained conscious control on 
this plane, it is time enough for him to begin 
to try to control consciously on other planes. 
Conscious control means thought control, in¬ 
telligent use of time, or time control, emotional 
control, and decisional ability accompanied by 
decisional action, and all of this done under 
conscious supervision. 

The spiritual part of the self is in reality 
always in touch with the universal and cannot 
be crushed or forced out of existence even 
though the individual is expressing in the 
coarsest matter and in what seems to be a very 
material existence, for in time all that is gross 
sifts out and the soul begins to gather again. 
This whole life is but a very small portion of 
the life of the soul, and even if one seems to 
have drifted all of the way here, it cannot 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 77 

affect the real self, for in the last analysis there 
is no time—time is not even of relative value 
to the real, everlasting self, for growth is not 
measured by time. Lost opportunity to prog¬ 
ress is measured by the intense restlessness 
that comes from the constant urge of the soul, 
and eventually that urge will be so great that 
the individual must find freedom through 
progress. So you see, the individual will pro¬ 
gress whether he consciously chooses The Path 
or not, but the value in choosing The Path and 
consciously treading it lies in the freedom and 
ease that comes with conscious cooperation. 
If one does not make any conscious effort, he 
will work out his growth through denser paths 
and without the light of understanding that 
does so much to lighten the load and make the 
going pleasant. 

One in time learns from opposing law be¬ 
cause one suffers the reactions from the viola¬ 
tions—just as a child sticks his fingers in the 
fire and is burned, until he becomes conscious 
of the fact that fire burns and that if he wishes 
to avoid the burn, he must keep his fingers out 
of it. Consequently in time he learns to use 
fire intelligently for his benefit instead of to 
play with by placing his fingers in it. In 


78 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


The Plan of the universe, the individual by 
his misuse of power and opportunities causes 
such a storm of restlessness within himself that 
he is forced to burst into something that gives 
him an outlet for his stored up abilities. There 
are a few souls who ignored all symptoms of 
an outburst and so long withheld progress or 
the compliance with law that they caused with¬ 
in themselves a cyclonic effect which so dis¬ 
turbed their growth that they necessarily had 
to retrace many formerly covered steps. How¬ 
ever, this occurs only in cases of wilful re¬ 
pression of growth, or wilful transgression of 
law. 

Wilful transgression of law has a few times 
been carried to a very dangerous point for the 
individual, and he has had to recover much 
ground because of it and has suffered long the 
reaction which he wilfully caused. It is in¬ 
deed ignorance on the part of any individual 
to think that he can violate law and forestall 
the reaction from the violation, for it is not 
possible for an individual to do this, and by 
trying he is only involving himself very se¬ 
riously. Therefore, if one does desire wil¬ 
fully to violate law, let him expect the result¬ 
ant reaction without attempt to escape it, for 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 79 

the reaction will be less hard if he does this. 

The spiritual spark in every individual as¬ 
serts itself at times, and at those times the 
individual has his highest aspirations. No one 
aspires to greater things than he is capable of 
attaining, and anything that one has a definite 
urge to accomplish can be accomplished by him, 
else he would not feel that urge . 

As a matter of fact, there are no direct 
limitations placed on any individual except the 
ones he chooses and fixes on himself. This 
does not mean that all individuals who are 
expressing on this plane are at the present 
time capable of attaining the same heights in 
accomplishment, for we have always to re¬ 
member that any individual can grow con¬ 
nectedly only according to his previous 
growth. In other words, we cannot expect an 
individual to aspire to or attain heights toward 
which he has never before headed, unless he 
begins at the beginning of that road, acquires 
all of the necessary knowledge, builds it in re- 
latedly, and develops the ability through 
accurately working for it. That is the only 
method of acquiring, and that is the only way 
any individual ever acquired any ability. 
Those whom we call talented became so by 


80 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


this route for there is no other route to ability. 

The individual who works very hard in this 
life to perfect himself in music may have to 
make many sacrifices in order to develop this 
ability, but he will acquire the finesse of that 
art in time as he practices and perfects. Then, 
if his desire to express through music is not 
satisfied in this life, he will be aflinitized to the 
environment which will give him that expres¬ 
sion, and probably the next time that he is 
born into a physical body, he will show his 
musical ability at a very early age and he will 
be what some call a very gifted child. But 
he is no more gifted than all other souls, for 
that which they choose to call a gift was only 
bestowed upon him by his very hard work in 
his former life. 

There is no soul expressing on the physical 
plane that has not lived before in a physical 
body, but some of them have lived many more 
times than others; this fact is the cause to a 
large extent of the differences in the mental 
and physical abilities shown in the different 
individuals. The savage races are not far 
from the animal expressions as they have not 
lived enough lives to be developed far from 
the animal state, but they will live a full round 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 81 


of lives in that environment until they have 
learned the lessons afforded them there, then 
they will be reborn into a race which is a higher 
developed race. 

The change called death relieves the individ¬ 
ual of his physical body, and, if he needs it, he 
will have a long period of rest and freedom 
from the pressure of physical things. But 
after a time he is born into the physical world 
again to the parents to whom he is drawn by 
strong vibratory affinitization. These laws are 
so exact in their operation as to cause the 
individual to be drawn into the environment 
to which his own previously acquired knowl¬ 
edge, abilities,, and desires have vibratorily 
affinitized him. The entire Plan is one of 
exact justice to all, with no flaws or mistakes 
in it. 

If an individual finds himself in an inferior 
race or environment at the present time in this 
life, he can be assured that he can work out of 
it into a higher one by consciously directed 
growth and accomplishment in this life which 
will affinitize him to the higher. Therefore, 
even if he does not attain his goal here, he can 
feel sure that he will automatically be drawn 
into the environment in the next life which will 


82 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


afford him the expression he has worked for 
in this life. 

This is according to law, for an individual 
will not feel keenly the inferiority of the race 
of which he is a part unless he has developed 
to a higher point of intelligence than that race 
as a whole has acquired, and no individual re¬ 
grets his status or aspires to better things until 
he has grown to that point which makes those 
things his next higher steps. 

The life that one leads physically, mentally, 
and morally determines the kinds of things 
that are being built into the consciousness, and 
they determine the vibratory attracting power 
of the individual for his next form of expres¬ 
sion. No ability or accumulated knowledge 
that has once been related in the mind of the 
individual is ever lost, but all those things be¬ 
come a part of the individual and are carried 
on into his next life. They may not be the 
prominent possessions of that individual in his 
next life unless he has gone into that life with 
an unfulfilled desire to express along that line. 
If he has that unfulfilled desire, then the 
ability will be prominent probably at an early 
age, or it will be easy for that individual to 
develop it at an early age with little effort. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 83 


This is not because of his desire, but because 
of his former work in developing that ability. 
Anything that the individual once acquires 
thoroughly will be stored in his consciousness 
to be drawn forth at any time that his desire 
for it is strong enough to draw it up. Con¬ 
sequently if you desire ability, all that you 
have to do is to begin to work for it by re- 
latedly building in the knowledge that is re¬ 
quired for the attainment of that ability. If 
you should not reach that accomplishment be¬ 
fore passing through death, you will retain all 
that you have builded in, and that which you 
have builded in will affinitize you to vibratory 
conditions that will be harmonious to your de¬ 
velopment along that line, so that you will be 
drawn into an environment which will develop 
you or permit you to develop along that line. 

On the other hand, if one violates law by 
wilfully living a selfish, cruel life, he will be 
building for himself a future environment of 
cruelty to himself, or extreme sacrifices such 
as are enforced in the case of physical and 
mental defectives, and he will automatically 
vibrate so that he will be drawn into that 
environment or condition at the time of his 
next entrance into this physical world. 


84 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


This physical world is a great school in 
which there are many grades, and a soul is 
born into this world time after time, each time 
into a new environment. According to his last 
life is he drawn into the new, for in almost 
every life he works out some things while he 
develops others, and according to his devel¬ 
opment is he affinitized. 

The soul comes to the physical world until 
it has passed through all the grades here and is 
graduated to a higher plane—which we may 
refer to as a higher school—where it gets 
higher development and continues, when it 
goes on into development for Mastership, on 
to the realization of spiritual growth. 

There are many schools, and there is much 
to learn. As to the ultimate goal, I make no 
statement, for your growth will determine 
that. 

After an individual has graduated from 
this plane, he does not need to return here 
unless he chooses to do so as a teacher or sav¬ 
iour of the race. Christ was such a Master. 
He said, “I know the road over which I have 
gone; ye know it not.” He was consciously 
aware of His previous steps and lives and He 
knew the road well. He very clearly stated 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 85 


that He came not to destroy law, but that the 
law might be fulfilled. He necessarily taught 
in parable and in simple form, for He was 
teaching the beginners, and He chose to make 
the sacrifice that would be long remembered 
because of its great effect on the emotional and 
idealistic individual. 

Jesus knew the laws of the universe and was 
able to comply with them to produce any re¬ 
sult He desired, and some of those results were 
called miracles. 

He taught His disciples about those laws, 
and said, “These things I have done, ye can do, 
and even greater things can ye do.” It is true 
that if the individual will consistently study 
The Plan and will learn its laws, he will be 
able to work accordingly, so as to produce the 
results desired along any line. I do not say 
that this is possible for every one in the one 
physical life. It may or may not be. The 
already acquired knowledge of the individual 
will have a great deal to do in determining his 
ability to attain this height in a short time. 
Knowledge cannot be thrown into the subcon¬ 
scious mind and made operative; it has to be 
built in with realization, and related so that all 
the knowledge fits together without friction, 


86 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


for if it did not, it would not be related knowl¬ 
edge. 

So many of the young souls tire when they 
attempt to gather knowledge accurately and 
rebel against all the details, but knowledge 
must be accurate or it cannot be classed as 
knowledge. It is necessary to work very care¬ 
fully, and one saves time and effort in the 
main if he works very accurately and is exact¬ 
ing in the acquiring. 

Many of the things, however, that come to 
one as definite realizations, come as such be¬ 
cause one has previously learned the details 
of that particular thing and as a consequence 
he simply accepts the facts as they are stated 
by others and feels real assurance in them. 
There is a distinct difference between the feel¬ 
ing in the consciousness of an individual when 
he recognizes and accepts a fact that comes to 
him as a sequence to his already accumulated 
facts, and a blind acceptance of plain state¬ 
ments made by another without the proof of 
their worth; for the one brings with it a glow 
of recognition, while the other is not stimu¬ 
lating. 

Knowledge that has been acquired in the 
past is mostly what we term our “natural 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 87 


abilities,” and we have referred to the intelli¬ 
gence of an individual which he brought over 
with him as “native intelligence” or “natural 
intelligence.” All that you possess in intel¬ 
lectual, physical, or mental ability was de¬ 
veloped by you at some time through your own 
efforts, and any ability or desirable possession 
which you have not acquired can be acquired 
by you at some time if you want it enough 
to work for it in the necessary way. The most 
important thing to consider in desiring any¬ 
thing is the effect it will have on you in all 
ways, and whether it will tend to make you 
grow roundedly or not. 

After you once get the realization of your 
ability to work out of any condition in which 
you might ever find yourself, you will be able 
to take an intelligent attitude toward condi¬ 
tions arising from unwise decisions that you 
might make. 

One may have times of great disappoint¬ 
ment and emotional dissatisfaction after one 
has the vision of The Plan, but it is not likely 
that he will remain in that condition very long; 
for he will always come back to the realization 
that it is not helpful or necessary to his ac¬ 
complishment, and it will be only a compara- 


88 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


tively short time before he regains emotional 
control. 

As he grows in realization, he will be able 
to have the emotional outbursts less and less 
frequently. It in time becomes natural for 
one to meet trying situations with poise, for it 
is a well understood fact that as one practices 
a thing he builds that thing in until it becomes 
natural for him. That which is called natural 
is simply that which the individual has prac¬ 
ticed until it has become automatic in his 
actions. Anything which is practiced long 
enough will become natural for the individual 
who has practiced it. That is— anything that 
one desires to build in as a part of his person¬ 
ality, he must constantly practice until it be¬ 
comes habitual for him . 

It is easy enough for one to comprehend the 
plan for progressional growth through a suc¬ 
cession of lives, for all that one has to do in 
order to learn how the law works concerning 
acquisition of knowledge, is to observe the 
process of learning on this plane. He will read¬ 
ily see that knowledge must be acquired 
through the individual’s effort in order to 
fasten it in his own mind, and it is manifest 
that ability can only be developed by the indi- 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 89 


vidual’s conscious work in accurately learning 
the details of the ability desired and then prac¬ 
ticing it until he can do that thing without great 
effort. Then we call it ability. 

One will find it much easier to learn about 
something in which he is interested. One will 
always learn with less effort if his mental at¬ 
titude is one of interest; for if one has to learn 
something or develop some ability, he might 
much better adjust his mind to the acquiring of 
that knowledge or ability so as to be able to 
enjoy the acquiring of it. By so doing, he will 
make it much easier for himself. A willing at¬ 
titude of mind will enable one to learn much 
faster than a mental feeling of having to learn. 
There are only two things which make the dif¬ 
ference between one’s ability to learn quickly 
and one’s inability to do so, and those two 
things are: one’s previously acquired knowl¬ 
edge and abilities, and one’s mental attitude 
toward learning. These are the determining 
forces all through one’s progress in his dif¬ 
ferent lives, and one progresses much faster in 
some than in others because of the joy in the 
progress. All one’s progress is made either 
easy and pleasant because of a willing attitude 
toward it, or difficult and unpleasant because 


90 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


of an attitude of rebellion or unwillingness. 
But as one learns by those very attitudes of 
mind toward The Plan, one will gain growth 
because of learning from the reactions caused 
by those feelings. 

Everything which one experiences will aid 
in teaching him and will thereby bring him 
growth. As all things bring growth to the in¬ 
dividual as soon as he learns the lessons that 
they have for him, the only consideration is 
whether one just wants to drift through (learn¬ 
ing as one goes because of the reactions from 
his ignorant working), or whether one chooses 
to direct his studies so as to build in sequen¬ 
tially and relate all knowledge as he goes. 
One will grow and develop in either of these 
cases, but the road of intelligent choosing is the 
easier path to follow, for one takes it with his 
eyes open, while the other path is the blind path 
and is a much longer and more trying one but 
ultimately leads the individual on to the higher 
realizations. 

All individuals who are expressing on this 
plane are not yet ready to choose intelligently 
the path of progress, nor are they capable of so 
doing, and to those who have not yet pro¬ 
gressed to that point of insight, the suggestion 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 91 


of consciously guiding one's growth will be an 
irritating one because it extends beyond their 
ability to comprehend. Consequently, if some 
souls seem to reject the idea of volitional choice 
of their paths of progress, do not try to force 
that realization, for if they are left undisturbed 
they will arrive at that point when they are 
ready. 

Growth to that point is natural, just as it is 
natural for the individual to develop through 
the stages of infancy and adolescence before 
reaching adulthood. The realization of the 
possibility of conscious growth is only for those 
souls who have developed the ability of intellect 
which enables them to comprehend The Plan. 
One who is advanced enough to guide his 
growth consciously should not attempt to force 
that realization on others until there is a mani¬ 
fest willingness to accept it; for one should re¬ 
member that all things will work out for the de¬ 
velopment of the individual ultimately and that 
a true realization cannot be forced. 


CHAPTER VII 


Eliminating Friction—No Discrepancies in The Plan—Possi¬ 
bilities as yet Undreamed of—Changing an Undesirable 
Environment—What Faith Does—Obtaining Assistance in 
Time of Need—Definite Proof of Justice in The Plan— 
The Scientist’s Exacting Attitude Commended—The Im¬ 
portance of Religion—Many Ways to God—The Futility 
of Religious Strife—The Dependable Test—No Permanent 
Loss of Soul—The Results of Persistent Violation of Law 
—The Possibility of a Practical Utopia. 


If one would eliminate friction, one must 
always bear in mind the accuracy of The Plan 
and realize the infallibility of the law of cause 
and effect. There is a definite cause for every¬ 
thing that there is; if one does not see that 
cause, it does not change the fact that there is a 
cause; for one does not have the ability to fol¬ 
low the line from effect back to cause until one 
has developed to an advanced stage in his 
growth. Therefore the fact that one is unable 
to see the cause need not assure him of discrep¬ 
ancies in The Plan, for they do not exist. It 
is not possible for a finite mind to comprehend 
the infinite, but it is possible for a finite mind 

92 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 93 


to gather relatedly the facts about The Plan as 
fast as he cares to build them in and relate 
them carefully and to have faith in the work¬ 
ings of The Plan that he does not as yet 
understand. If one realizes the wonderful ac¬ 
curacy of every part of The Plan that is known 
to man up to the present time, he cannot rea¬ 
sonably assume the inaccuracy of the rest of 
that same Plan simply because he cannot yet 
see it as it is. It would be just as reasonable 
for him to assume that The Plan had no ac¬ 
curacy about things until man understood their 
accuracy. 

The Plan has always been accurate, but man 
has not always understood it. The possibility 
of man’s creating an airship which would defy 
the law of gravity always existed, but it has 
been only recently that man accepted it as 
feasible. Electricity was always in the air, but 
it had to be discovered by man before he would 
accept the fact of its existence. So it is with 
the universal Plan. It contains possibilities 
for man that are by men as yet undreamed of, 
and those possibilities will only be disclosed to 
man as he through his own efforts discloses 
them,—for that is law. 

When man thinks that he has reached the 


94 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


limit of his possibilities, he closes his mental 
eyes, thereby shutting out his mental vision; 
that is what the majority of people are 
doing, for they overlook such wonderful op¬ 
portunities and are perfectly oblivious to their 
existence. This condition is recognized by a 
great many people when it applies to some¬ 
thing of a material nature, and we speak of 
those individuals as being short-sighted. But 
it is true of all individuals to some extent, for 
very few have a realization of the unlimitedness 
of their possibilities. In many of these cases 
the lack of realization comes from or is caused 
by a definite lack of desire to change. This is 
almost a state of inertia. It is in some few 
cases a necessary thing for the individual to 
vegetate in this manner, but as a rule this con¬ 
dition is not a necessary one and only causes 
unrest within that soul. 

Some individuals live active, productive lives 
of growth, and then, when they face the change 
called death, they face it with as much willing¬ 
ness as they would face a night of sleep on the 
physical plane, sensing, if not knowing, that 
rest is to come. Other souls seem to flounder 
all during their lives here and accomplish little 
either in growth or possessions and are restless 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 95 


and discontented all the while; then when they 
face death, it is with the same discontent in 
their hearts. These undesirable conditions are 
the result of repressed growth and affinitize 
them to an environment of a like nature. 

A spirit of rebellion against an undesirable 
environment does not solve the problem nor 
change the environment, but a resolute deter¬ 
mination to change it or to work out of the 
condition will help one to do it because it will 
connect one vibratorily with things, forces, or 
ideas which will tend to change it, or will tend 
to help the individual emerge from that condi¬ 
tion. Consequently the spirit with which an 
individual works has much to do with his re¬ 
sults, for the mental attitude of the individual 
either opens his mind, causing him to be recep¬ 
tive, or it closes his mind, causing him to be 
non-receptive to realizations that would come 
to him from outside sources. This non-recep¬ 
tivity shuts off any force that would help him 
either in finding the solution to his problem, 
or in drawing to himself help which would lift 
him from his involvement. 

In the working of The Plan, almost all the 
individual has to do is to work out the best he 
can according to his intellectual ability and 


96 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


then to be receptive by maintaining an attitude 
of faith in the coming of the solution to all the 
rest of his problems, thereby attuning himself 
to helpful forces which will be of value in 
awakening him and causing him to work out of 
the conditions. When one maintains faith, he 
creates the vibration which will draw either 
from his subconscious storehouse or from the 
Universal storehouse according to the strength 
of his affinitized thought force which is draw¬ 
ing. So you see, if you ask, believing, you 
shall receive; for the force created by the be¬ 
lieving mind is magnetic and draws to one in 
relative proportion to that in which he is believ¬ 
ingj because The Plan is so accurate in all 
details that it does not eliminate the possibility 
of assistance being rendered one in time of real 
need. For at the time of real need, when one 
has worked to the best of his ability and has 
come to the seeming end of the road, if he will 
ask for help, the help will come. This is not 
a side-stepping of law but a fulfillment of law, 
for it is in compliance with the vibratory law 
which operates unceasingly. 

We have to bear in mind that all individuals 
do assist others in time of dire need and that 
none of these acts of kindness ever goes with- 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 97 


out return or equalization at some time. The 
time of necessity is the time when one auto¬ 
matically draws to oneself the assistance 
needed. In so doing one may be only drawing 
from a source which was created by himself at 
some time in the past, or he may be obli¬ 
gating himself for some future repayment. 
All things are equalized at some time. One 
cannot serve others kindly and lovingly with¬ 
out creating kind and loving reactions for one¬ 
self in the future, unless those kindnesses were 
an equalization of kindnesses formerly received 
by him. Accordingly we know, when we see 
one who is living a life of sacrifice, that that 
soul is either equalizing some former sacrifice 
made for it, or that it will attract a like serv¬ 
ice from another at some future time of 
need. 

There is such a thing as borrowing; but 
there is no such a thing as escaping the repay¬ 
ment, and it is not wise to go too deeply into 
debt. It is well to remember that we are living 
in the eternal right now, and that the past is 
past so far as the activity of it is concerned, 
but that all that is present is the result of the 
past, and that the present, creating through 
thoughts, acts, and desires, is the force that is 


98 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


determining the future. Therefore, if one is 
living the present under conscious domination, 
one is privileged by intelligent choosing. 

The Plan does not restrict one in the way 
in which he gets his lessons or knowledge, but 
it simply operates in such a way that all things 
are equalized and worked out with extreme ac¬ 
curacy. One can readily see that no other 
plan would be just to all individuals, because 
if an individual could receive desirable gifts 
or undesirable penalties that might come to 
him by any other route than the result of his 
own causations, there would exist favoritism 
which we could not reasonably accept as justice 
from God. 

The only logical explanation of the abilities 
of some individuals, which others lack, would 
be that the individual’s own efforts produce 
them. Even if we did not have direct proof 
that this was true of The Plan, we would have 
to believe this to be true to have any confidence 
in The Plan; but we have definite proof of this 
exactness of justice in The Plan. As far as 
we have gone in our investigations we have 
found absolute exactness in even the minutest 
forms of expression. 

The scientist in his laboratory finds exact 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 99 


laws governing everything with which he has 
ever worked, and as he goes further he will find 
the same exactness of law. The exactness of 
law has always been, even long before science 
began to discover it, and that same exactness 
of law will exist whether science ever discovers 
further or not. 

The scientist is a very important servant of 
mankind and is working in a very necessary 
way, for if he were to accept things as facts 
that he could not prove over and over again, 
he would have no reason to expect humanity to 
accept his ideas about The Plan any more than 
the ideas of another—and they would not do 
so. Consequently he should not be criticized 
for his refusal to accept things before they are 
definitely proved to him. 

The ideals of the various religions are very 
necessary to the individuals holding them, and 
there is a very definite cause for the many re¬ 
ligions with their many differences. They 
play a very important part in the The Plan 
and help souls to hold unconsciously to the 
ideal of perfection toward which they are evolv¬ 
ing. The religious ideal is the stabilizing fac¬ 
tor to the emotional individual, and there are 
many souls in that stage of progress that have 


100 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


not reached (or rather are not in) the analyt¬ 
ical stage of growth. 

The scientist, on the other hand, is in the 
analytical stage, and is building in knowledge 
accurately. 

It is no disrespect to God to investigate The 
Plan thoroughly, for that is exactly what He 
wants you to do; the scientist is a higher 
evolved soul than the one who receives growth 
only through emotional inspiration. 

You are told: “Ye shall know the truth 
and the truth shall make you free.” The 
scientist is learning the truths of The Plan, 
and through his knowing the truth about The 
Plan as far as he has gone, he has set humanity 
free from many limitations, and only as he 
learns more about The Plan will he be able to 
free humanity still more. 

It is only through knowledge that one be¬ 
comes free, and all the improvements which 
have added to the comforts of mankind, such 
as modern homes with electricity and steam 
heat, automobiles, Pullman cars, and the com¬ 
forts afforded one both in the home and when 
traveling, are due to man’s knowledge, and 
there is no limitation to knowledge which will 
produce more wonders than have ever been pro- 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 101 


duced. The limitation is in man; for just as 
soon as there is one who will investigate far 
enough to learn about this knowledge and then 
objectize it on the physical plane, it will be¬ 
come a reality. 

There are at the present time scientists on 
the physical plane who have very advanced in¬ 
ventions which they are not yet putting out be¬ 
cause humanity as a whole is not ready to ac¬ 
cept the radical change that those inventions 
would bring. The lack of development of 
humanity as a whole can prevent the scientist 
from objectizing his discoveries, but nothing 
can prevent him from acquiring knowledge 
as far as he cares to go relatedly. 

You see, The Plan is beyond finite compre¬ 
hension in its greatness. Everything that is, 
is a necessary part of The Plan and is filling 
a need. Therefore it is quite useless for the 
individual to try to convert all other indi¬ 
viduals to his particular religion, just as it is 
useless for one to try to convert all others to 
his way of thinking along other lines. There 
are, of course, many view-points to everything 
that exists, and it is truly narrow for one to 
assert that his path is the only path to God, for 
there are many paths, and the path one finds 


102 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


himself on at any given time indicates his de¬ 
gree of progress. 

Anyone can make a positive assertion about 
a thing, but it requires intelligence to give 
proof of that thing, and as man has not yet 
been able to prove beyond question any of the 
religions, why should he take the responsibility 
of trying to force his methods of worship on 
others ? 1 There is no one way to worship God, 
and each individual has the privilege of choice. 
To have friction and quarreling among the fol¬ 
lowers of different religions is not a convinc¬ 
ing argument for the sincerity of their worship. 
“By their fruit ye shall know them.” When 
Christ said this, He gave it as a method by 
which to know the real worth of the individual. 
That test is the only dependable measure we 
have at hand, for, as has been stated before 
several times, it is not what a man says but 
what he is that counts, and if one’s methods of 
worship are causing him to bear good fruits in 
character and in all of his life’s works, then 
one can depend upon it that there is something 

11 believe that the above idea, if it could be spread through¬ 
out the whole world with an actual realization, would elimi¬ 
nate the last of the wars over religion, such as Ireland has been 
torn with for years .—The Editor. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 103 


to his creed. If another man professes no re¬ 
ligion at all, but is a true example of right liv¬ 
ing, he is serving God as truly as one can, re¬ 
gardless of the fact that his creed is not one 
that is taught from the pulpit. 

The command “Judge not that ye be not 
judged” is a very important one to remember, 
for we do not see the powers working in the 
invisible life of the individuals about us. This 
command does not mean that you should not 
attempt to analyze an individual for the pur¬ 
pose of knowing him better, but it does mean 
that you should not try to criticize him accord¬ 
ing to your standards, because he may be in 
a different grade of the school of life than you 
are; if so, you are not always capable of being 
his judge, as that duty belongs to God Him¬ 
self. It is wiser for one to leave it to God, to 
be worked out according to His laws. 

There would be much more harmony in the 
world if each individual could choose his own 
religion and his own vocation, instead of hav¬ 
ing others choose it for him. Such people 
are kind but misguided in their kindness 
when they make decisions for others. It 
is only tolerance to worship in one’s own 
way and to let others have the same privilege. 


104 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


One need not be nervous about all souls 
being lost but himself, as God cares just as 
much for the others. In fact, there is no per¬ 
manent loss of a soul, nor is there a permanent 
straying from The Path. There are long and 
winding paths with many sidetracks, but in 
time those sidetracks become very tiresome, and 
then comes the willingness to back up and start 
anew on the road of progress. It is possible for 
an individual to work in opposition to law long 
enough to produce a sufficiently strong re¬ 
bound to cause him to start over again almost 
from the beginning. This result comes only to 
the individual who volitionally and persistently 
practices using his powers for extremely selfish 
ends or for the destruction of others. 

The conscious desire to work in opposition to 
The Plan sets the individual back further than 
any other violation of law. It is the only vio¬ 
lation which blots out of the consciousness of 
the individual the knowledge and the reali¬ 
zation of powers which he has attained. This 
is a very necessary way of working those ele¬ 
ments out of The Plan, and they may continue 
to exist for a time, but the individual will be 
forced back to begin over again and thereby 
work constructively with The Plan. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 105 


There are opposing elements constantly 
working in opposition to progressional law, but 
in every case of volitional opposition that is 
carried to any extreme, the individual opposing 
law will have to begin again in his growth and 
may have to lose the sense of his identity for a 
long enough period of time for him to learn the 
necessary lessons. No force is strong enough 
to oppose the operation of law very long, and 
no force will ever become strong enough to 
do so, for The Plan is too carefully worked out 
to be weakened or destroyed. 

If the individuals of the physical plane 
could realize the importance of working for 
the good of the whole, they would get very 
much more satisfaction than they get working 
in opposition to other individuals on this plane. 

To the limited vision it seems necessary to 
work in a purely selfish way toward a purely 
selfish goal. The greatest detriment to self 
is selfishness, for it limits the individual and 
blinds him to real self interest. His greatest 
aid to self advancement is altruism and interest 
in every participant of the whole Plan. 

If men could, in a spirit of love, be working 
together for advancement, which all could par¬ 
ticipate in by expressing in their own ways, 


106 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


there would come a wonderful period of har¬ 
mony and love. This would only be possible 
for advanced individuals unless it were accom¬ 
plished under the guidance of a Master, be¬ 
cause it would take great understanding to be 
able to fit each individual into his particular 
niche and enable each to understand why all 
could not hold the more important places in 
working out the goal of attainment. 


CHAPTER VIII 


The Majesty of Work—The Mental Attitude that Makes It 
a Pleasure—Freeing Yourself from Undesirable Positions 
—Finding What You Need Most—Where Your Oppor¬ 
tunities Lie—Each Individual Creates His Own Condi¬ 
tions—The Power of Determination—The Greatest 

Stumbling Block—Always a Way Out. 


You see, each individual can he as superior 
in some one line of work as can another indi¬ 
vidual in another line of work , and each individ¬ 
ual should he happy in that line of work for 
which he is best fitted , regardless of the fact 
that it is not a highly prized position so far as 
the opinion of the peoples of the earth plane 
are considered. For all works are necessary to 
the completion of the whole , and one should 
take pride in doing his particular part in the 
hest way possible. He then would he a true 
artist in his line. 

Art does not need the canvas and a paint 
brush; that which is done with finesse is art, 
and the lowliest of work can be a real pleasure 
to the individual doing it. If the individual 
107 


108 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


could take this attitude toward it, it would 
create the vibration which would affinitize him 
to the next higher place. He would then ex¬ 
press in that work only so long as he cared to do 
so, for he would get visions of the higher, with 
bursts of realization as to the possibility of its 
accomplishment. 

As soon as one becomes perfected along the 
lines of that which is his present accomplish¬ 
ment, he is no longer held to that position 
through affinitization, as he has freed himself 
by perfecting his knowledge of it; that is the 
only way he can become permanently freed 
from it. When he chooses to step from that 
position to a higher one, he cannot step into the 
higher until he fits himself for that position by 
accumulating knowledge of it, so as to famil¬ 
iarize himself with it (thereby becoming mag¬ 
netized to it). Then if the opportunity for ex¬ 
pression along that line has not in the past been 
visible to him, nor seemed possible for him, it 
will probably appear to him suddenly. In other 
words, just as surely as you prepare yourself 
thoroughly for a thing, that thing will come 
to you. 

Many individuals wish for a change in their 
conditions, but only rebel against them instead 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 109 


of mastering them. As a consequence they are 
only wrapping themselves up in those vibra¬ 
tions instead of freeing themselves from them, 
while if they took hold of the situation and mas¬ 
tered it, they would become free. 

The most important thing for the individual 
to realize is that his most needed lesson is not 
afar off but is presented to him in his immediate 
environment , and that the only way he can 
reach out for the higher is to work out through 
the closest to him . The individual is inclined 
to overlook his closest opportunity for growth 
and development because of its very closeness, 
but he will sooner or later be forced to see its 
value because of his definite need for it. Many 
are searching for opportunities in the distance 
without ever thinking of looking for opportun¬ 
ities right in themselves. Much hard effort is 
wasted and much disappointment is caused by 
this wild search for freedom in the external, for 
it is truly a wild chase. If one would do that 
which is at hand, he would be always ready for 
that which comes, and there would not be the 
constant struggle. 

To build harmoniously one must build re- 
latedly, and so it is in growth. The individ¬ 
ual who desires harmonious growth must work 


110 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


things out sequentially. There is no use chas¬ 
ing the rainbow, trying to get the gold at the 
end, when with as little effort one could pro¬ 
duce the gold and have the satisfaction of the 
well paid effort instead of the disappointment 
at the end of the road. So if one desires new 
development in either self or environment, let 
him proceed to work out the change, for that 
is the shortest road to the realization of it. 

Conscious } intelligent use of time brings 
great reward in satisfaction and enables the 
individual to feel himself progressing. There 
is no satisfaction that compares with it, for the 
conscious realization of well directed time 
awakens the individual to the joy of living; 
accordingly, if one continues to direct one’s ef¬ 
forts and to use time efficiently, one begins to 
progress rapidly. While growth must be re¬ 
lated or sequential, or rather unbroken, it does 
not need to be slow. The thing that deter¬ 
mines its speed is the efficiency with which it 
is directed. A smoothly mapped out course of 
progress, carefully followed by the individual, 
will bring very rapid growth, but spurts of 
working which come from time to time mean 
little in the continuous progress of the individ¬ 
ual. 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 111 


The individual who accomplishes so much in 
life that he seems to be a very different indi¬ 
vidual from the rest of the people on this plane, 
is different from them only in the way he uses 
his time, for each individual has exactly the 
same amount of time in which to accomplish 
and each can and does use his time according 
to his desires or lack of desire. When one 
actually desires a thing, one will find time for 
that thing, even though it means the sacrifice of 
other things . It is not sacrificing to give up 
other less important things which would keep 
the individual from the attainment of the de¬ 
sirable goal. The whole thing rests with the 
individual and depends entirely on his strength 
of desire, for his desires are a power in effect¬ 
ing his decisions, and once he has made a defi¬ 
nite decision to do a thing, nothing can stop 
him except his own change of mind,—because 
where there is a definite desire to do a thing, or 
to have a thing, there is always a way to do it 
or to get it. Sometimes the way is difficult, 
and there are things to conquer before one at¬ 
tains the desire, but that matters little to the 
determined soul; for the determination gives 
that individual the power to conquer and vi- 
bratorily connects him with forces from which 


112 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


he draws the necessary ideas and powers to at¬ 
tain even that which to the less determined 
soul seems to be impossible. 

To the determined individual there is no 
such thing as turning from a desired goal. 
He may find many obstacles in the path, but 
he only stops long enough to get a new breath 
and to plunge into them strongly enough to 
force them out of his way. The only thing 
that i\s really a definite stumbling-block to 
progress is lack of determination, which is in 
realty lack of desire J and not until the indivi¬ 
dual has a definite desire will he push forth 
with the necessary determination . That is 
why necessity is the spur that comes to so 
many, for had it not been a real necessity for 
them to go forth they would have stopped on 
The Path and progressed very slowly; but the 
necessity of the environment into which the 
soul comes at birth is the thing to which he was 
vibratorily attracted because of his previously 
smothered desire to grow along that line. If 
one consciously lacks the power of decision, 
yet realizes within himself that he should ac¬ 
complish, then in time that inner realization 
will be strong enough to force him into an en¬ 
vironment which will necessitate his express- 


THE HOAD TO FREEDOM 113 


ing along the line of his inner realization; and 
as he works out of that condition, which was 
his through attraction if not through conscious 
desire, he learns the lessons afforded him by 
that condition. 

It seems that many individuals exist in a 
sort of a lethargic state in which they seem to 
feel very uncomfortable and dissatisfied about 
their condition, but not uncomfortable enough 
or dissatisfied enough to desire to put forth the 
effort needed to free them from that condition; 
and so they will remain in that environment 
until the desire is strong enough to bring about 
a willingness to work out from it. 

After an individual has made a decision, he 
finds a way out. There always was a way 
out, but the reason for his not having found it 
before was that his desire was not strong 
enough for him to see the way. One cannot 
see with his eyes closed, and many people are 
going about with their eyes of realization 
closed and are shutting out the many things 
that are right in front of them, because one 
only draws according to his magnetic forces. 

An individual will not see a thing that he 
refuses to see, and no matter how much he 
may be rebelling against The Plan he will not 


114 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


see the way out of his environment until he 
desires to get out of it with a genuine desire; 
then he will accept the open way which was 
there all the time, but was refused by him until 
he desired it. The individual who suffers 
from indecision constantly is only thrashing 
about in a circle and has no definite path to 
follow; as a consequence, he gets nowhere 
either in growth or accomplishment, and is con¬ 
stantly under the pressure of the whirling 
vibrations set up by him as he whirls in in¬ 
decision. He is very apt to have a restless 
effect on other people whom he contacts if they 
are receptive to him at all, and the individual 
who is sensitive to vibration will feel this al¬ 
most as soon as he is in the presence of such a 
one. 

That which is the dominating tendency of 
an individual is manifest in all things that he 
does and most easily detected in the things he 
does when he is off guard. If he becomes 
easily excited and confused, then he is that 
kind of thinker and worker a good part of his 
time, but if under real stress he is composed, 
then he is used to keeping himself under con¬ 
trol; that person dominates consciously when 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 115 


he desires to do so. There are individuals 
who control themselves quite masterfully 
when they choose, but they do not always 
choose to do so. 


CHAPTER IX 


The Advanced Individual—Domination of Time—The Secret 
of Accomplishment—The Daily Tests—Opportunities for 
Growth—All Individuals Ready to Work Toward Master¬ 
ship—The Significance of a failure—Lack of Knowledge 
Not Necessarily a Permanent Limitation—The Danger 
of Living in the Past—The Road to Mastership—Over¬ 
coming Setbacks—Building the Temple—Choosing Build¬ 
ing Material—The Plans—The Promise. 


The advanced individual is one who con¬ 
sciously directs himself at all times. If it is 
necessary to keep consciously alert, he does 
so, but when it is better to remain quiet, he 
poises himself so as to maintain the quiet at¬ 
titude. If it becomes necessary for him to use 
force in getting results when dealing with in¬ 
dividuals of less intelligence, he uses force 
under his conscious direction, and is forceful 
without stirring himself up with that feeling of 
antagonism which causes such destructive fric¬ 
tion in the consciousness. He takes his rest 
when he desires it, and is active when he desires 
it. He plays when he wishes to do so, and 
when he goes out to accomplish, he accom- 
116 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 117 


plishes that which he sets out to accomplish. 

It is necessary for the individual who aspires 
to Mastership to begin now to practice that 
which the Master practices, and that is con¬ 
scious domination at all times concerning all 
things. It will not be possible to do this with¬ 
out conscientious practice in your daily life 
until it is attained. This goal is necessarily 
one which can be attained only by the greatest 
and most sincere effort until one gains control. 
The real tests come to one daily, and he alone 
knows how he passes them. Many times an 
individual blinds himself to the real truth of 
the situation, but down in the real self it is 
impossible to do so. Only that individual 
who can be honest with himself is ready to 
begin to understand his progress. 

All individuals are ready to work toward 
Mastership. Some have not developed so far 
as others have, and they will have more prog¬ 
ress to make than those who have progressed 
more than they. This is not a discouraging 
fact when one realizes that the path of prog¬ 
ress toward Mastership is in the beginning the 
same for all, and that those who have taken 
the direct route are of course ahead of those 
who have side-tracked many times. 


118 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 

The one who has developed roundedly will 
have no difficulty in progressing smoothly. 
As stated previously, your needed lessons can 
be gained from the things which come to you 
daily, and you need not search afar for some¬ 
thing which will give you growth. It makes 
no difference how highly developed one may 
be, he is in the environment which affords him 
the opportunity to grow. It is necessary for 
one who wishes to grow, to plan to do every¬ 
thing that comes to him in the best way that 
it can be done, thereby getting the lessons af¬ 
forded to him. One also learns much from 
the mistakes he makes, for if one is earnestly 
seeking growth and has not produced the re¬ 
sult he desired to produce, then he should ad¬ 
mit to himself that he has not used his powers 
as intelligently as he could. For if he had 
used his powers intelligently, as was possible 
for him to do, he would have produced the de¬ 
sired result, unless he was working for a result 
that could only be attained by great combined 
forces. If he found that he had been working 
for such a goal as that, he would find that he 
had not looked carefully enough at the situa¬ 
tion before beginning to use his forces. In 
other words, to grow one must be intelligently 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 119 


observant, and if he is, he will be able to di¬ 
rect his growth and to learn by any mistakes 
made because of his lack of knowledge. 

Lack of knowledge is no limitation to the 
individual who is progressive, for that individ¬ 
ual learns a thing that he wants to know in¬ 
stead of wishing that he had learned it in the 
past . The future always will be the result of 
the present, and the past is of use to the 
individual only as he uses the knowledge that 
he built in at the time he was having the ex¬ 
periences (which were at that time the present 
to him). 

It is not desirable for one to live in past 
memories , either in the glory that was , or in 
the regret that things were not as desired. 
Either condition is detrimental to the growth 
of the individual, for in living in the present, 
one is solving the problems that come and is 
making progress by building in knowledge 
that he gains from them; while he who lives 
in past memories is letting so many opportun¬ 
ities for growth pass without any notice of 
them that he is simply drifting on an old bark. 

Consequently, if one desires growth, one 
must keep his face to the front and be on the 
alert for opportunities for growth. They are 


120 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


always at hand, and the only reason they are 
not accepted is that the individual is not look¬ 
ing for them, and does not use them. There 
is no limit to the opportunities for growth 
that are afforded one every day of his life— 
lessons in tolerance, lessons in patience, and 
in thoroughness and accuracy, lessons in serv¬ 
ice wisely rendered, lessons in self-control and 
conscious domination of thoughts, feelings, and 
time, and many other lessons are constantly 
before one—but one only learns them as he 
consciously chooses to do so, or because of his 
previous accumulation is forced into the en¬ 
vironment which compels him to continue in 
the one thing which will, in time, make him 
learn it. 

An individual who decides consciously to 
work toward Mastership makes the going easy 
for self because he has the right mental atti¬ 
tude toward it, and as a consequence he will 
find pleasure in the going. One can enjoy a 
thing that he takes the willing and joyful atti¬ 
tude toward, and that attitude makes him so 
much more receptive to the facts contained in 
the lessons before him. The attitude of mind 
has so much to do with the learning of a thing, 
whether it is easy to learn or difficult, for if 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 121 


one dreads to go into a subject, it will not be 
easy for him to learn it because be has not a 
receptive mental attitude. That is why it be¬ 
comes easy for an individual to progress after 
he has once made the decision to do so, because 
after he has made that conscious decision, he 
has caused himself to be alert both consciously 
and subconsciously, and as a consequence he 
will be able to grow more rapidly and much 
more easily, and he will have the joy of the 
going. There is such a difference in the feel¬ 
ing of one who progresses willingly and the 
feeling of one who resists progress. It is as 
if the individual were swimming with the tide 
when he progresses consciously, for when one 
swims with the tide, he is assisted by the tide, 
but when one swims against the tide, he is 
opposing the force of the tide and is opposed 
by the tide. Consequently the individual who 
is rebelling against progress is trying to swim 
against a very great tide, and that is why he 
feels as if he were in a turmoil constantly. 

The easiest road to peace is conscious de¬ 
cision to grow, and growth with the conscious 
assistance is easy and pleasant. One cannot 
grow toward Mastership by just idealizing it 
because it takes real concerted effort to attain 


122 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


control to the point of Mastership, and it takes 
continuous control to keep on The Path; but 
as one keeps up the conscious control, one 
gradually sifts out all the opposing forces and 
finally finds progress to be smooth. One’s 
strongest opposing forces to progress are al¬ 
ways within oneself, and as one strengthens 
his desire to grow consciously, he eliminates 
the opposition to growth. 

One cannot expect progress without at times 
reverting to the old established conditions, but 
if one recognizes those as setbacks and keeps 
up his desire by taking conscious steps to 
overcome the setbacks , he will gain constantly 
regardless of those things, and they will be¬ 
come less frequent. If one keeps one’s cour¬ 
age in times of failure, there will be no such 
thing as retrogression. By that I mean that 
the individual should never permit discourage¬ 
ment because of failure to progress as he had 
planned, but should get his lesson from that 
failure and make it an aid to progress instead 
of a drawback . If one does this, he is making 
use of his opportunities to grow, and he will 
find progress rapid. 

Mastership is relative perfection, and is 
possible for every soul to attain. It is the 


THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 123 


individual’s attitude toward attainment which 
makes The Path either easy or difficult, and 
that is also a determining factor in the length 
of the road to that attainment. Some souls 
are just beginning on The Path, other souls 
have progressed a great way toward the real¬ 
ization of that goal; but whether one is just 
beginning or has traveled far, he can enjoy 
the journey if he chooses to do so, and the 
way will be pleasant for him if he makes it so. 

As we build the Temple, we must build with 
care, for the flaws that are caused by inferior 
building material weaken the Temple as a 
whole and will at some time cause us to re¬ 
build. So it is well for the individual to make 
his choice of building material with the great¬ 
est care. The laws of The Plan are the same 
for all, and the only difference in the building 
is the difference in the material and workman¬ 
ship that the individual has used in his Temple. 

Each soul is truly building his Temple as 
he works day by day, and if he will select his 
plans and build according to them, he will be 
the wise architect. The results will be what 
he makes them, and the Great Architect over 
all is letting each work as he chooses. The 
laws neither choose nor give single attention 


124 THE ROAD TO FREEDOM 


but work with exactness for each; and as the 
individual chooses, so let it be for him,—and 
so shall it be. 

Set your goal for the future and map out a 
daily regimen that will bring you a step nearer 
the attainment of your goal each day. 

Do not meet crises before they come but 
keep your consciousness ever poised and ready 
to meet any experience that comes to you just 
as masterfully as you can. 

If one will follow the instructions outlined 
in this book, it will keep him on The Path that 
leads to Mastership, and he will find true joy 
in the journey toward that attainment. 

I give this book with true pleasure to those 
who are ready to receive, and do not ask that 
it should be forced upon one who is not yet 
ready. 

Read, and read carefully, and as you read, 
the full realization of the meaning contained 
herein will dawn upon you. Let him receive 
who is ready to receive and,—go in peace. 

W. M. J. 


THE END 












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